Approval: it always astounds me…
…that Obama’s approval ratings remain so high:
Among Democrats, a few have turned on him, but most still approve. The big change since 2009 is that many have gone from strong to mild disapproval. BFD, as Joe Biden would say:
Republicans have always disapproved, and now they disapprove more strongly. No surprise there:
But I beg of you, please tell me who—WHO?—are these “Republicans” who still strongly approve (3%) or moderately approve (6%). Are they jokers pulling Gallup’s metaphorical leg?
[ADDENDUM: Another poll of interest.]
It is all about race.
And Blacks can’t figure out that Obama has literally sold them down the river because he wants the Hispanic vote.
It’s ironic that blacks and Hispanics see Obama as feeling their pain when he has been a cause of it. It reminds me of the young man who killed his parents asking the judge for mercy because he was an orphan.
Blacks and young people got what they voted for, good and hard.
Who are these Republicans that still approve? Joe Scarborough and David Brooks come to mind. Moderate Republicans that have white guilt and also need to feel more intelligent and show more discernment than garden variety Republican hicks.
Besides those that KLSmith cites, I imagine that very wealthy Republicans that favor amnesty are OK with Obama, they’ve done just fine under his ‘management’.
Among democrats the poll cited shows a 27% decrease in strong approval for Obama and a 17% increase in moderate approval for Obama. Just 10% of democrats who previously approved of the job Obama is doing now disapprove of his performance.
My guess is that willful denial of reality and fears of being accused of racist motives for abandonment of support for Obama… pretty much cover it.
Colin Powell.
MJR…I was naé¯ve enough to let Colin Powell’s endorsement for a Second Obama Term really surprise me. We’ve heard nothing from the man since that idiocy. Interesting.
I would think the 3-6% is reflecting some error or problem with the poll. If you randomly call people and ask them how they identify themselves politically, 6% of the population doesn’t sound out of line as as a sample space who don’t know what a republican or a democrat is.
And some probably are jerking the pollster around.
Telling a pollster what one really thinks might get one labelled as a racist. With the fact that that pollster has your phone number reinforces this fear. Paranoid? No longer, this is the Hopey-changey so fervently lusted for.
Telling Democrats what your views are is inviting the iRS to get rid of you or watch you for signs of dissidence or influence.
NeoConScum, 6:58 pm — “I was naé¯ve enough to let Colin Powell’s endorsement for a Second Obama Term really surprise me. We’ve heard nothing from the man since that idiocy. Interesting.”
Interesting indeed.
Many people use the term “RINO” to describe a Republican who is not (sufficiently) conservative, or who may cooperate with some Democrats in some manner or in furthering some legislation. But “moderate Republican”, “mainstream Republican”, “centrist Republican”, even “center-right Republican” will do that job.
A “RINO” — “Republican In Name Only” is . . . well . . . for me, anyway, that particular pejorative should be reserved for someone who really *literally* is a “Republican in name only”.
Like, uhhhhnnh, errrrmmmm, **Colin Powell**!
MJR…Or, Chucky Hagel..!!
The RINO label has always seemed too glib by half to me. Colin was the last National Security Advisor to Ronaldus Magnus. Joint Chiefs Chairman when Dick Cheney was Sec. of Defense and Gulf War I came down. He was the man who flew to Pakistan as Sec’y of State after 9-11 and had them ‘read our lips’ real clear what the consequences would be if they didn’t lend aid-support for our upcoming Afghanistan War. They complied quickly.
Though I bristled and cussed when Powell endorsed Mister No Experience of Any Kind late in the ’08 campaign as being possibly “transformational” (pause to GAG), I ‘Got’ it. But 4-years of seeing The Boy King’s wreckage, with far more possible in the second four, his ’12 endorsement was unf***ingforgivable.
I agree, Obama’s approval numbers are inexplicably high.
Unless of course you accept that the tide has turned and we have gone over the edge. A majority of the country on the left, yearning for Euro style socialism.
In any case whether Americans are Euro’s now or there just is a majority of low IQ voters out there it is not a happy prospect.
Colin Powell sabotaged Desert Storm’s aftermath. SO Iraq WMD issues was far for the course.
Ymarsakar…Please s’plain your 11:43am so this 34-yr neocon can unnerstan’, will ya please??
It was Powell’s own surprise for Schwarz, the general in charge of Desert Storm’s operations to aid the Shia or chase the Iraqis back from Kuwaitt. Schwarz asked for leave to chase the Iraqis back, and he got it. The HighWay of Death though got too much attention, so Powell pulled the plug, after having ordered notes given to the Shia to rebel. Schwarz then had to withdraw as he saw the Shia allies he would have had going into Iraq, terminated. From Schwarz’s own biographies, we hear that Schwarz thought Powell did this not for military reasons but for political influence reasons. He wanted it to look better.
As such the highlight of Desert Storm’s removal of the Kuwait invasion was a success, but not the war itself as it merely led to a new war. OIF.
And use normal English.
Uh-Huh…General SCHWARZ…Uh-Huh…Cannot possibly make this Scheiss up. Schwarz…As in Norman the Schwarz..? Uh-Huh….
Ymarsakar: “As such the highlight of Desert Storm’s removal of the Kuwait invasion was a success, but not the war itself as it merely led to a new war. OIF.”
http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/public_papers.php?id=2882&year=1991&month=4
This, too:
http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/public_papers.php?id=5191&year=1993&month=01
NeoConScum, regular English got your goat tail, little cat?
Or do you not understand there is a real general by the name? And yes, he was really there. And yes, he’s a lot more in the action than your buddy boy, Colin Powell.
You’re not a neocon, you’re a 34 year old clown. If you want an explanation, you can get it. Your attitude, I’m going to throw it back at you.
The next time your idiotic moronic IQ level requires an explanation, Scum, I’m going to slap you in the face. Fair warning, that’s all you are going to get, you trash.
Jeepers, what do you suppose got her goat all riled up?
Eric: Thanks for the Bush Library link. Interesting.
Your condescending attitude has not passed unnoticed, New Clown Scum.
I was naé¯ve enough to let Colin Powell’s endorsement for a Second Obama Term really surprise me. We’ve heard nothing from the man since that idiocy. Interesting.
It’s not naivete on your part.
You’re surprised on a separate level for other fundamental reasons. But that’s a different issue.
You’re either too stupid to realize what you are doing here or you think I’m too stupid to realize what you’re doing here.
So long as you obtain a veneer of self respected civilized politeness towards me, Scum, I’ll return the same favor. However, the moment you drop your farce of a mask for your real emotions that you undoubtedly cannot control, I’m going to let you have a taste of your own medicine. However, it’s a bit stronger than the one you threw at me.
You can pretend you don’t know what you’re doing all you want. It is a game that all the clowns play.
Uh-Huh. Ya get me here, Scum? Do you need a Scheiss grenade held in your hands for a long and warm time. The internet has no physical interface for escalation, but it still has a face. And you’re gong to need a better one.
Ymarsakar, NeoConScum:
I want to call your attention to this previous post of mine on fighting in the comments section.
I value both of you as commenters, and I’d like you to follow the guidelines in that post. Thanks.
Been a very long time, Land Lady, since I tripped across such a prime Black Hole of Need. The frequently wrong, but never in doubt clowns are rare on your classy site. Your Site//Your Rules. Occasionally the patronizing, pompous vapid ‘Twits just have to be smacked. But, I will endeavor to respect your wish.
Oh btw, Charles Krauthammer is still lacking in a spine.
And yes, I’m writing at my original length, before Art came to this blog, because I know.
I wrote a reply, but it ended up over here.
http://ymarsakar.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/3911/
Just to be clear Neo, is that following the guidelines? I mean the other one too.
Pingback:Black Hole Democrat stars | Sake White
HAPPY LABOR DAY, Neo!! Here’s to you and my Neoconservative Godfathers: Irving the Great, Norman the Wise and Krauthammer the Best.
Have a Blessed Day, Land Lady, and Thank You for all you do here. NCS
NeoConScum: “Eric: Thanks for the Bush Library link. Interesting.”
I don’t know that Powell deserves the bulk of the blame as Ymarsakar lays it, but he is correct that what subsequently went wrong with the Iraq enforcement was rooted in HW Bush admin’s errors at the outset. The error was worse than just short-sighted expedience. Everything that went wrong was already evident as early as Bush’s April 1991 press conference and his last (Jan 93) Gulf War ceasefire enforcement update to Congress.
Folks like to blame Clinton and/or Bush, but I don’t. I blame HW Bush. HW Bush’s successors were stuck with the consequences of HW Bush’s errors with the Gulf War.
Eric…Think I’ll stick with blaming Saddam Hussein who could have easily averted the ’03 Invasion by following some rules and letting the inspectors do their jobs with Open Doors anywhere they wished. It’s rarely pointed out, but fact anyway, that Saddam’s own generals believed the WMDs were fact right up until post-surrender information.
The ISIS Hell is a direct result of Obama the Pretender’s abandonment of our huge Victory. A VAST TESTICULR CONCAVITY for all the Evil Doers to see was really all they needed.
I’m blaming all those so called Americans that supported Jimmah Cawter and the Vietnam protests.
They’re still alive. The Democrats from Civil War, conveniently or not, aren’t.
What is a Neoconservative? See 3:47pm above.
Irving Kristol, our godfather, defined us thusly: A Neoconservative is a Liberal who has been mugged by reality.
Like the classy hostess of this blog and many who read and comment here.
NeoConScum,
Well yeah, obviously Saddam is the cause. He should have stood down with Kuwait in 90-91. After the Gulf War, he could have prevented the sanctions, no-fly zone, Op Desert Fox, Op Iraqi Freedom, and everything else by simply complying with the terms of the ceasefire he agreed to. He could and should have done so in 91-92, let alone 02-03.
But comparatively speaking, of the 3 Presidents who dealt with the Saddam problem, HW Bush is the one who screwed up.
Add: “It’s rarely pointed out, but fact anyway, that Saddam’s own generals believed the WMDs were fact right up until post-surrender information.”
Saddam was guilty of more than that.
The weapons standard of compliance was established initially by UNSCR 687 and reinforced at the conclusion by UNSCR 1441 and PL 107-243. The UNSCR 1441 inspection period concluded with UNMOVIC’s finding of “about 100 unresolved disarmament issues”, reported to the UNSC on March 7, 2003. That was the main trigger. Since the Iraq enforcement was compliance based – not intel based, as many believe – the debate really ends there. According to the terms of the Gulf War ceasefire, Saddam was guilty on WMD.
Post-war, albeit irrelevant to the compliance-based trigger for OIF, the ISG corroborated Iraq was in violation of the ceasefire mandates. Violations included, notably, a “large covert procurement program [and] undeclared chemical laboratories” in the Iraqi intelligence services, which also “supported denial and deception operations”. Each of those violations by itself justified OIF. The IIS was under Saddam’s direct control and, of course, his regime arm that was notorious for working with terrorists and handling Saddam’s in-house black ops.
There likely were more violations than the ISG found. The Duelfer Report emphasizes that potential evidence was lost in the war and its aftermath, including clear signs that suspect areas were clearly “sanitized”. Also not all captured regime officials were forthcoming when questioned due to fear of prosecution and reprisals. So what the ISG reported found was more telling than what it didn’t find. Again, though, the post-war findings are irrelevant to the decision for OIF since the enforcement procedure was compliance based and Iraq was confirmed by UNMOVIC to be noncompliant on the ceasefire weapons mandates. Iraq was also noncompliant on non-weapons mandates, eg, UNSCR 688, which were also mandatory for Iraq and triggers for OIF.
Thanks, Eric. Appreciate the information. That said, I’d take Bush-41 0n his worst day over Billy Boy on his best. But, Bush-43 was and remains a truly Great Man to this neocon. As Rudy G. said to his police commissioner on the afternoon of 9-11-2001: “Thank God George Bush is president.” Amen, mayor.
NeoConScum: “Appreciate the information.”
The Duelfer Report is on-line, as are the other primary sources I cited.
Basic essentials for understanding OIF in the proper context include the 1990-2002 UNSC resolutions for Iraq (at minimum, see UNSCRs 687, 688, and 1441), Public Law 107-243 (the 2002 Congressional authorization for use of military force against Iraq), President Clinton’s announcement of Operation Desert Fox (the penultimate military enforcement step that set the baseline precedent for OIF), President Bush’s remarks to the United Nations General Assembly and excerpts from the 2003 State of the Union, the March 2003 UNMOVIC Cluster Document (summary) that triggered Bush’s final decision for OIF, and the Iraq Survey Group’s Duelfer Report.
Links here:
http://learning-curve.blogspot.com/2014/05/operation-iraqi-freedom-faq.html#furtherreading
Eric…I will always remember Tommy Daschle’s repeated bleating & whining on the senate floor in the summer and into the Fall of 2002 about whaaaat was President Bush “..going to do about Iraq..” Then, as you mention above, the president went to the U.N. and made a short, powerful, easy to understand speech to the General Assembly. It shut up the Democrat senate leader for a nano-second until he nimbly found other Bush deficiencies to cry about. God, what punks they were and remain.
NeoConScum,
The worst aspect of the Democrats’ opposition to Bush’s Iraq enforcement was that Bush carried forward the Iraq enforcement from Clinton. In fact, Clinton’s initial endorsement of Bush and OIF cited to Clinton’s own Iraq enforcement experience. Democrat Congressmen who voted for PL 107-243 were, like Clinton, merely consistent with their role in Clinton’s Iraq enforcement that was picked up by Bush.
During the Clinton administration, Russia and other international Saddam advocates used the same narrative against Clinton’s Iraq enforcement that they carried forward to oppose Bush’s Iraq enforcement.
What changed? With Bush as President and Leftists pushing the Russian narrative, the same Democrats who had approved or even – as Clinton officials – personally carried out Clinton’s Iraq enforcement chose to adopt the Russian narrative to oppose Bush, even though the Democrats had worked against the same Russian narrative for Clinton’s Iraq enforcement.
The 180-degree partisan flip was a cynical partisan maneuver by the Democrats. But what’s more striking is the tactic shouldn’t have worked. The 8-year record of Clinton’s Iraq enforcement, decade-plus Congressional record on Iraq, and near-decade of Russian narrative opposing the US-led Iraq enforcement had all been open-source, headline news. Yet despite all that, the Democrats/Left’s brazenly revisionist adoption of the Russian narrative against Bush’s Iraq enforcement prevailed in the popular zeitgeist.
Why do the Democrats and Left believe they can get away with anything in the activist game? Because their success lying brazenly about Iraq – despite that the Iraq enforcement record and primary sources clearly show OIF was right on the law and justified on the policy – proves they can get away with anything in the activist game.
Eric…The Horror of Iraq today is 100% to the credit of Barack the Pretender. Abandonment and Retreat from the huge victory and stability that The Surge and its aftermath brought with American strategy, muscle and planned long term backup.
Having seen the newest beheading of an American civilian by ISIS, the Vast Testicular Concavity made no statement before he boarded his plane to Estonia to assure them that they have American backup. Can you imagine—with the Ukraine not receiving our material support, much less anything else from us—how that must make the Estonians shiver with confidence??
ISIS needs killing to the last butcher. Every one of them in the ground with—wherever practical—the company of gutted pigs. KILL them ALL. Rain Fuel-Air explosives on the ones outside the cities. They are pure, naked Evil.
And, Obama(like Nero)fiddles…Loathsome. Unforgivable.