March 2, 2006, Stick with a winner
More not-so-good news for the President: even a Fox poll shows the ports issue to be a political albatross on the President, with only 17% in favor of the ports deal and an astounding 69% opposed; indeed, even on a Fox poll, Bush's support among Republicans (the only people who actually like him) dipped below 80%, to 77%... so you know he has some problems. Of course, the hidden undercurrent there: more people (by 44% to 42%) think opposition to the ports is more motivated by politics than legitimate concern for security; of course, 69% of respondents say they oppose the ports deal, and many admit that it is out of knee jerk prejudice against Arabs.
Once again, this is what I have been saying: you can't gin up irrational hatred of an ethnic group for almost five years as your basis for remaining in power, and then pretend you can turn it off on a dime just because your friends want to make a few bucks. As the polling shows-- Bush still has strong support among Republicans, and virtually no support anywhere else. So-- undermining his most rabid supporters with this kind of cognitive dissonance is sheer idiocy. Or is it? The possiblity remains (I'll keep saying it) that Karl Rove is planning a grand misdirection: actually make the Republicans in Congress look good by distancing themselves from a hopelessly unpopular president.
We'll see. The Katrina revelations could be explosive... we don't know yet.
The one thing the President has in his favor: the Democrats. Yes, yes, the same Fox poll above shows that more Americans feel that the Democrats should control Congress... but... well... they're still the Democrats.
Still... at some point, perhaps the country will decide to have an "accountability moment"? Then again... the Democrats. Time will tell.
Update: As if on cue, Bruce the Veep sends along this CNN report indicating that New York Republican Congressman Peter King of Long Island is accusing the Bush Administration of lying to Congress about its conducting of a thorough review; King insists that the same officials told him they did nothing more than ask if there was an intelligence file-- the most cursory of cursory reviews. So who looks like their protecting us against foreign threats? Republican members of Congress, that's who.
I don't know... if it smells like a plant, looks like a plant, feels like a plant...