You got that right DJ!

DJ,

Although I still wish that President Bush would have been more hard-line on illegal immigration and controlled spending more, overall I have to give him an A. He has been in the top ten of our greates presidents.

That is probably the main reason I am backing Giuliani at this time. He has said that he would appoint judges similar to what President Bush has (therefore rendering his pro-choice position moot), and he has been a consistently strong supporter of President Bush.

And it is what makes Huckabee a horse's ass (his criticism of Bush in order to score points).

there are a whole lot of people who generally think the President is doing a good job, but they don't make an effort to stand up for the President in public, out of public expectation, a focus on the 2008 contenders, or perhaps the media - including the blogs - has harassed Bush supporters into thinking there are few of them left, or that their support for the best President between 1989 and 2013 is somehow wrong.

This phenomenon has been studied and explained by the theory called the spiral of silence, in which those who perceive they are in the minority (whether they are or not) are less likely to voice an opinion. There is a lot of solid data to support the theory, at least as far as communication/political science research goes.

I support Bush for his principled stand on issues, some of which I disagree with. Opposing the global war on climate skeptics is one of the reasons I still support Bush. I also agree that Saddam needed to be removed from power and once we invaded Iraq it's far better to see the process through to the end than cut and run.

I also tend to support the President because he is the President. It's not in the interest of the nation to have a weakened President.

The isolated majority is only half the problem. Those job approval numbers a low for a reason. Liberals who are polled will always give President Bush poor ratings because they differ on ideology. The conservative or conservative-leaning people who are polled probably give him poor ratings because they see the President as having abandoned them on core policy issues. Most of them probably do not regret their 2004 vote though.

Amen.

Having a little perspective would be nice, but it is in short supply these days.

kbiel, which 'core policy' issues, and how has he 'abandoned' any position he held? From what I see, Bush has been consistent in his major policy views, and so it appears that folks who think he has 'abandoned' his views are just buying into spin.

I have major problems with some of President Bush's policies, but on balance I think he has done a good job. He is a good man. I would vote for him again.

I like Thompson. He has not distanced himself from the president. When asked how he would handle the GWOT he stated unapologetically that he "would do essentially the same thing that the president is doing."

As for the Huckster, check out this sorry rhetoric:

At a chaotic rally in a cramped room in a West Des Moines shopping mall Wednesday night, Huckabee lifted a signature Edwards phrase, promising that when he triumphs in Iowa on Jan. 3, "America can say thank you for restoring faith in a political system that's not just run by corporate greed but is run by ordinary citizens." Huckabee followed up in Marshalltown by uttering a line of such naked populism that the Baccarat crystal probably rattled in corporate dining rooms around the country: "Wouldn't it be nice to have a president who doesn't find himself wholly owned and completely tied to the biggest corporations in the country?"

I can't abide that kind of talk from a so-called Republican.

This post is prima facie evidence of End Stage Dementia.

Somewhere in Texas, there is a village in search of its idiot.

Ah, Governor Dean's representative has arrived ...

Talk about cognitive dissonance.

Unbelieveable!
After all the colossal blunders this man has taken America through, there are people who still support him?
No wonder most people in the rest of the world think you Americans are dumb.

We'll call and let them know where to pick you up, rr.

You are entitled to your own opinions, not your own facts. McCain never criticised Bush for the decision to go to war and there is nothing in the article you linked to that says otherwise. Point of fact, McCain has done a much better job articulating and defending our decision to go to war there than Bush has. And it was McCAIN's support for the Surge -- not Bush's -- that provided political cover for enough wavering Republican Senators and Congressmen to back the strategy long enough for it to bear fruit. He may be repeating an old Kerry line but in McCain's case it isn't just a case of Monday Morning Quarterbacking, he actually was calling for more troops on the ground in Afganistan BEFORE the Tora Bora battle, so as far as I'm concerned, when he says we would have gotten Osama by now, I believe him.

As for the Gang of 14 deal, you can argue whether was a good deal for the Reps or whether McCain should have held out for a better one (or joined the call to repeal the judicial filibuster, which I guarantee you would be biting Reps in the back if they had gone through with it). But it is a misstatement of fact to imply that he ever voted against a Bush judicial nominee. He hasn't.

I am with you as far as McCain's global warming fetish though. Oh, well, no candidate is perfect, and at least he doesn't have the clout with the party to cram bad ideas down the throats of Senators in his own party like, say, Bush managed with the perscription drug plan or the No Child Left Behind act.

DJ, I am a proud member of the 29% club (those who support the President 100%, even when his approval was 29%). People who are lazy and accept the company line from the drive bys will not really understand what a great legacy GWB will have going forward.

Bush made. and his fan club continues to make, the mistake of thinking all those votes were for him and an affirmation of his policies, rather than against Kerry and Kerry's policies. Heck, I'd venture a guess that half of the GOP votes for Bush were made reluctantly.

Being that conservatives rightly claimed there was no way Clinton had a mandate, it would be hypocritical for any conservative to claim a mandate for Bush. Tis a good thing no conservative is doing that, right?

And "Certainly, there has been a real push to silence Bush supporters." You've got to be kidding me! Criticizing Bush and his record is no more 'silencing' than criticizing Dems approach to the war is questioning their patriotism. This is the kind of c**p I'd expect to see from a whiny Democrat.

Baghdad barney - "Talk about cognitive dissonance."

No matter what you think of ol' barn, one has to admire someone who speaks so strongly from his personal experience.

I'm still waiting for Bush to spend all that political capital he earned in the last election.

mj - "No wonder most people in the rest of the world think you Americans are dumb."

Got proof of that? Citations? Links to data showing what you say is remotely true?

Anything?

I love posts that poke the BDS nest!
I imagine BarneyFife2000 and similar friends from the other side of the aisle (planet? universe? reality?) glowing with anger that someone would say a kind word about a very underated leader of the free world.

There are disagreements, to be sure, but I believe the Bush legacy will ultimately be regarded as a very positively-influential one, though it may take some people years to realize it. (I sometimes wonder what these people feel the middle east would be like without a U.S. presence... Probably all rainbows and kite-flying stuff).

I suspect we will see candidates in 20 years offering positive comparisons to the President Bush, as candidates today compare themselves to Reagan.

...And if that makes you burst a blood vessel or gives you heart palpitations, seek immediate help.

Baghdad barney - "I'm still waiting for Bush to spend all that political capital he earned in the last election."

Looks to me as if his "spending spree" has done just fine.

He's defeated each and every attempt by the special class of Dems called Defeatocrats to tie war funding to turn-tail-and-run caveats.

Turned their sorry assed, and backdoor, attempt to expand gov funded health care to "children" up 21 years of age via S-CHIP.

Got proof of that? Citations? Links to data showing what you say is remotely true?

Anything?

Marc, I think Rosie or Sean Penn may have said it, so it must be true.

I support the President on issues when he's right and oppose him when he's wrong, but I still support him generally. I think his legacy will be far more positive than current critics could ever imagine. Truman and Eisenhower have both been upgraded by history's verdict, for example, and the FDR myth is beginning to fall apart.

Barney #19 ~ Bush tried to use his political capital to reform Social Security. Democrats not only blocked his ideas, but offered NONE of their own (although the old standby of raising taxes never really gets dusty, does it?). Pull your head out of your ass every now and then - once your eyes get accustomed to the light, you'll be amazed what you can see.

mantis #4 ~ Good point, but when does this phenomenon begin to apply to Ron Paul supporters? Faster, please!

Michelle's place has a related, and pertinent article.
All things are not equal.

I have to say I have always supported GW. I had a big problem with him and the immigration deal, but as I have said before, no other president in the history of the United States has had so much thrown at him without a precedence or protocol to follow. Indeed, I believe an objective study of his presidency in the future will rank him amoung the best presidents. I also supported him twice here in Texas as I believe DJ did also. He may not talk good, but he acts very well. ww

It's easy to understand the brain dead democrats hate for the president. He has taken them to the wood shed on 99% of the issues. Proof that democrats have lost it (their minds) is the fact they keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The president doesn't worry about the phony polls (which only indicate what the poll questions want it to indicate). Like he told the reporter yesterday 'what am I supposed to do, fall into the fetal position'? That's what the democrats do, become whining cry babies at the drop of a hat. Tears flowing from a POTUS wannabe because 'they're being mean to me'. 99% of the democrats have became traitors to the country due to their hate, but the real hate is for themselves because they are such cowards/failures and they know it.

Son of G - "Marc, I think Rosie or Sean Penn may have said it, so it must be true."

They're just mimicking their mentor the Venezuela Vixen president Hugo Chávez.

"He's defeated each and every attempt by the special class of Dems called Defeatocrats to tie war funding to turn-tail-and-run caveats.

Turned their sorry assed, and backdoor, attempt to expand gov funded health care to "children" up 21 years of age via S-CHIP."

Using vetoes, veto treats and his proxies in the Senate (filibuster) to kill legislation is not leadership but obstructionism. The only way he gets anything done is through signing statements, executive orders and recess appointments.

Is that your definition of political capital? It sounds more like a bankrupt administration.

Good point, but when does this phenomenon begin to apply to Ron Paul supporters? Faster, please!

Little chance of that, I'm afraid. The theory allows for vocal minorities in the form of the "hard core," who have been relegated to the defensive position and have nothing to lose by speaking out (socially, that is), and the "avant-garde," who consider themselves to be ahead of their time and seek public response, negative or positive. The second group seems to fit the mindset of many Paulites, though I imagine that there are plenty of them that perceive themselves to be in the majority (reality be damned).

Basically, a small and vocal minority can operate outside the spiral of silence, especially if they're crazy.

I support Pres. Bush, pray for him...disagree from time to time...let's not forget, he is human by the way...but I'm proud of my two votes for him.

I'm married to the most wonderful man in the world who is 90% on good decisions. I disagree with him...but I don't leave him. He has what I need and vice versa. See the analogy?

I'm strongly leaning toward Thompson...I just hope he's still on the ballot when I get a chance to vote...otherwise, I'll go with Romney. McCain and Huckabee are in the wrong party. They are democrats. I don't even think I could hold my nose and vote for either one of them.

Guiliani is a great guy...tremendous NYC mayor...he waited too long.

I keep seeing support on-line for Thompson...but nothing in the polls.

All I know is that if Hillary or Obama get in the White House...I'll cut myself totally off from politics. The moment either one of them gets elected...every cent we have will come out of the stock market...by the way, that's a lot of money.

I don't trust the Dems at all.

DJ ...what made you so smart? I have followed you for a long time... you are an inspiration to me. Thank you. You have deep and valuable insight and we need you.

Dallas

Baghdad barney - "Using vetoes, veto treats and his proxies in the Senate (filibuster) to kill legislation is not leadership but obstructionism. The only way he gets anything done is through signing statements, executive orders and recess appointments."

No asshat, it's called using political capital, and yes that includes his constitutional right of veto, to kill off a Congress, and or Senate who imposed themselves into and area they have no say in. I.E. the running of, any war.

Their obligations prior to or during war is to first authorize it and defund it if they deem necessary.

It's a sad spectacle to watch buffoons like barney all scream how Bush has allegedly trampled the Constitution when they are proud of the fact the lame-brains in Congress are doing just that by stepping into areas they have no right to be in.

Barney still shows up here? After embarrassing himself so much? I guess wearing a paperbag over one's head could make him feel better.

SPQR - "Barney still shows up here? After embarrassing himself so much? I guess wearing a paperbag over one's head could make him feel better."

Having shame isn't a prerequisite to comment on a blog that I know of. Unfortunately.

That said, the Unknown Comic did very well for himself wearing a paper bag.

So barney may actually have a future. Or maybe a past... was that you under that bag barney?