If you were ever wondering who out there is in that 30% that thinks the departing GWB did a heckuva job(!), look no further than Wisconsin’s largest daily newspaper. This is what a Bush apologist sounds like:
Historian Andrew Roberts tells in the Telegraph how he ruined his chances to be on a radio debate about President Bush:
He said he thought he’s a good president.
You can get the opposite view anywhere. Just put a cliche antenna and you’ll catch mindless tripe like this from Leonard Pitts
Shorter McIlheran: Since there seems to be universal agreement in the media that GWB was a terrible President, I’ll find someone who doesn’t agree and present him as the thoughful voice in this world of silly cliche’s about GWB!
This is simiply a continuation of the denial of reality we’ve seen for the past 8 years from Bush apologists like McIlheran, so I can’t say I’m terribly surprised.
One thing though I’d like to rebut from the piece… There has been a long standing and clear disatisfaction with Bush and his policies. It isn’t just starting up now that he’s at the end of his term. After all, he’s been historically unpopular for the majority of his final term as President. So it’s absurd to try to explain his mistakes away as something that people will understand and forgive in time…
We’ve had years to understand and forgive already, and neither have happened.
I live in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI with my wife Jen, our daughter Emerson, and sons Carter and Colton.
I think another right-wing myth that needs debunking is that Bush’s low approval ratings are the result of partisan hatred from the far left. We frequently hear from folks like Roberts (and of course, Sykes!) that Democrats “never supported Bush out of anger bitterness from the 2000 election”. (I’d wager that this view is also held by more than a few of our right-winger friends who frequent this blog.)
The facts tell a different story. In 2001, Bush’s approval ratings consistently remained in the upper 50% to lower 60% range. Following the 9/11 attacks, Bush recorded the highest approval ratings ever polled, hitting as high as 90% in some polls. His ratings remained high for the next 2 years, consistently polling in the mid-60 percent range. Bush’s approval ratings began their precipitous nose dive when the truth about Iraq’s non-existent WMDs surfaces, then plummeted following the Hurricane Katrina debacle.
These facts stab directly of the heart of the “Bush was a great president, but you liberals just hate him because he’s a republican” myth.
All historical polling data can be found here: