George Bush

The Shrill One: "the Senate — and, therefore, the U.S. government as a whole — has become ominously dysfunctional."

Unless some legislator pulls off a last-minute double-cross, health care reform will pass the Senate this week. Count me among those who consider this an awesome achievement. It’s a seriously flawed bill, we’ll spend years if not decades fixing it, but it’s nonetheless a huge step forward.

It was, however, a close-run thing. And the fact that it was such a close thing shows that the Senate — and, therefore, the U.S. government as a whole — has become ominously dysfunctional.

Is the Truth Commission, Dead?

...[Senator Patrick Leahy] couldn't get one Republican to come behind the plan... "it's not going to happen."

Here at Daily Awesome, we kept a close watch on George Bush's approval rating over the years. We've watched it fall, fall further, and fall further yet. To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised that it's as high as it is right now.

Bush's final approval rating: 22.

Ouch.

That's the lowest rating in 70 years... The only reason it's the lowest in 70 is because we don't have any data prior to that. So I'd assume we can safely say that Bush is the least liked President to ever hold office.

Interestingly, Mr. Bush also has the distinction of having the highest approval rating for a president, as well as the lowest.

In November 2008, just before the presidential election, only 20 percent approved of the job he was doing as president - the lowest of any president since Gallup began asking the question in 1938.

But Mr. Bush enjoyed a high approval rating of 90 percent -- the highest of any president -- following the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

How about them apples? September 11 gave Bush a 90 percent approval rating. That always makes me wonder, what if Gore had been president back then? Would we have been destroyed in September 11, and then again and again and again as Terrorists had free reign over the pussified United States of America? Naah, most likely, his administration wouldn't have ignored the warnings of the attacks. Then again, what the fuck do I know?

Then:

Yet for all this overwhelming sense of inevitability, the strongest case for Bush is based on his conservatism, not his viability. He is, in fact, the most electable conservative presidential candidate in a generation. More conservative than his father, George W. has a proven record of conservative accomplishment that the media have largely ignored. A Bush victory in November 2000 would be a conservative triumph, not a moderate one.

Many conservatives are understandably wary of another Bush in the White House. But while Gov. Bush is apparently a loyal son, he has blazed his own trail and has his own ideas. When asked what he thinks of his father's 1990 tax hike, he replies, "It was a big mistake by a good guy."

That Retro Feel to Bush’s Style: It’s Reaganesque January 12, 2003:

The similarities between the two presidents are striking: the retreats to the ranch whenever possible to clear brush and to clear their minds; the readiness to delegate important missions to aides; the reliance on tax cuts to spur the economy.

In many ways, George W. Bush, as president, has more in common with Ronald Reagan than he has with George H.W. Bush, his father.

And Now: RNC mulls accusing Bush of 'socialism':

The divisions taking hold among Republicans are becoming more severe as the party prepares to accuse its outgoing president of embracing "socialism."

The slur that conservatives were so fond of lobbing at Barack Obama during the presidential campaign is now being directed toward President Bush and GOP lawmakers who supported federal bailouts of the banking and auto industries.

At its meeting next month, the Republican National Committee is set to vote on a resolution formally opposing the bailouts, accusing Bush of helping nationalize the banks and taking "another dangerous step closer toward socialism," the Washington Times reports Tuesday.

Here's an article detailing the event. Spectacular.