Bush's Popularity With Older Voters Is Seen as Slipping

[Snellius]

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 — President Bush's support among older voters has dropped substantially in recent months, eroding recent Republican gains and highlighting the importance of this critical electoral bloc in 2004, political strategists and analysts say.

The trend underscores the stakes for Mr. Bush in the current Congressional negotiations aimed at creating a long-promised prescription drug benefit in Medicare, which covers 40 million elderly and disabled Americans. Negotiators passed a self-imposed deadline on Friday for reaching agreement, but vowed to complete their work before Congress adjourns, which is expected to be sometime next month.

Mr. Bush's popularity has declined over all since early summer, but some recent polls suggest that he lost significantly more ground among voters 65 and older than he did among younger Americans. Politicians in both parties consider older voters to be particularly important because they are much more likely to vote than younger people, and because they are heavily concentrated in states that are often presidential battlegrounds, like Florida and Pennsylvania.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/politics/campaigns/19ELDE.html?hp

[elfin]

1. No kidding - what with

messing with Medicare, lower return on fixed income investments, higher prop taxes to make up for loss of national services, higher premiums for "gap" policies - they are in the Geezer Squeeze. Plus seeing all this mess being laid off on their grandchildren, plus maybe some unemployed kids coming home to roost just adds to their woes.

[dreissig]

2. Bush's Popularity

Older people take politics more seriously, possibly because they've lived long enough to know that happy endings are not inevitable. When they watch television, the watch the news .... which is one reason products for older people are advertised then.

Bush has not been an effective president, and old people know it. In the early going when there was still a chance that Bush would pull out of the trough he was headed into, older people gave him the benefit of the doubt. Now there's no doubt: Bush is a dummkopf.

[MaineDem]

3. My 90+ year old GOP Mother-in-Law

Thinks he's a "boob". That's probably the strongest word she's ever used in her life.

My mother lives in an elderly apt complex and she says that those who have any interest at all also think Bush is an idiot. The others don't care and my poor mother hates to see such apathy.

The older Americans realize he's screwing with them. This isn't a good sign for the Boy King.

[davsand]

4. He never produced the Sr. drug coverage he promised.

He ran promising drug benefits wouold be added to Medicare. Well, they not only ahven't been added, but as was pointed out already, he's weakened the program.

When you couple that with the decreased return on investments (Read as Retirement Accounts!) shrub starts looking like a pretty bad bargain.

My GOP parents have started viewing him with a very real distaste. I was shocked when my Mom told me the other day that if the Dems run anybody she can stomach (Momspeak for anybody that isn't gonna take away guns and regulate small business to death) she's planning to vote Dem.

I doubt that my parents are all that different from many Seniors out there.

Laura

[Mountainman]

19. He hasn't delivered a single thing he promiced.

I can't think of one thing he promiced that he delivered on or even intended to deliver on.

[stevedeshazer]

28. Endless war?

Tax cuts?

[Mari333]

5. The young will be burdened with the deficit

and the baby boomers might as well set up cardboard boxes to live in, and the Vets are already seeing their retirement funds looted
Yes, even my repub mother wants the little Boy King OUT and FAST...
Its hit home, this BFEE thuggery, in every house in the US..

[Flying_Pig]

6. As one of those "older voters", ..."slipping" isn't the word for it..

He's crashed and burned. I notice in my AARP periodicals, most of the stories now are anti-Bush/Republican policy. This is going to hurt Bush badly, as us "older" voters, are more likely to go to the polls than other demographic groups.

As I've stated here before, in my lifetime, I have never seen such animosity towards a president, not even during the height of the Nixon/Watergate era. And, with experience gained from over 35+ years of being involved in politics, I smell a 20+% defeat coming for Mr. Bush at the polls. It will be perhaps the worst defeat in U.S. history.

Scoff if you wish, but unless Bush cancels or steals (BBV) the elections, or some campaign killing info is discovered about the eventual Dem nominee, or something happens to that nominee (stay out of small planes please), he's a goner. Yes, there are a few "if's" to be concerned with, but if (there's another one!) democracy still exists in this nation, he's toast.

[Palacsinta]

7. My 80-yr-old Repub mother

was recently polled..........when asked if she approved or disapproved of the present administration, she replied that she was "Very disappointed". She'll also frequently say, "How dumb do they think we are?" re: Bush et al.

[Rose Siding]

8. How can his numbers be in the 50's?

Overall, I mean. That just seems so screwy to me. Nearly everyone knows someone who voted for him and feels differently now. I just don't believe the Bush polls.

[0007]

9. Particularly important

that junior is in trouble. But were dealing with the most mafia type assholes in the history of humanity. So beware!!

Gotta hit the streets in big protest. This fucker has got the money and corporations backing him. Crooks like the Carlyle Group and Halliburton and the likes. If we can't stopped 'em were screwed.

[GCP]

10. "His lowest (percent approval) among any age group"

A poll conducted this month by The New York Times and CBS News showed that Mr. Bush had a 41 percent approval rating among the 65-and-older voters, his lowest among any age group. That was down from 44 percent in July and 63 percent in May.

The Grey Panthers are going to deal the death blow against the Chimp next November.

[bleedingheart]

11. I sat with a number of elderly dems recently who all think he is an ass

and they all thought the war in Iraq was a scam

[grasswire]

13. I heard on CNN last week..

...that his support increased among white men by 19 percent recently -- because of the stock market's gains. So, that 19 percent is covering for a probable drop in other demographic groups.

[stevedeshazer]

12. My mom, 76

Can't stand him. Calls him a "beady-eyed little shit." Afraid that her grandkids might be drafted (Dad was a WWII vet.)

[shanti]

32. my mom is 71 and

she feels the same way as your mom. she's a lifelong dem, but usually pretty apolitical. she also cannot stand rumsfeld, says he's oily.

[peacefreak]

14. And my 84 year old friend

calls him a horse's ass. They might not see as well, hear as well, but they have long memories & can call it as they see it! May their numbers grow.

[Starpass]

15. Well, as a 58 year old..

..I could never understand why the hell anyone my age or older would have voted for this asshole in the first place. It was soooo apparent that he and the Nazi repukes have wanted for years to destroy ss, medicare and about everything else in this country. Must comment on one of your posts above: one of you said that the AARP magazine is now bashing Busha and republicans. I let me membership lapse because in 2000 they stated they could not endorse either candidate because their numbers were equally split (50-50) between repukes and Dems. SO this is great news......gee, did a bunch of us old dumbass geezers figure out we are NOT one of Bush's 1%. How many of them figured out they are Bush's "to be exterminated 'cause don't have big bucks". Go you gray haired panthers...go AND don't let the little asshole talk you into it again. This is where I'm 100% sure that Clark would make them pour away from Bush by the tons. They love war veterans.

[UTUSN]

16. Well, Glory Be, Every Day Brings a New Group Slipping from Shrub

Arab Americans, Asian Americans, non-extreme-Cuban-Americans, now Older Americans......can the Big Mo be in the offing?

[lovedems]

17. It sounds like good news.

He is losing the elderly vote and the military vote. That is a good sign! The only ones who will be voting for him are the CEO's and the wanna be Rambo's. You know, the ones who don't go to war but talk really big like they would kick some ass IF THEY DID GO. What is the next group of likely rethuglican voters he will lose?

[Tracer]

18. Popularity? What popularity?

That loathesome little turd never had any "popularity" with this older voter.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

20. Maybe it's just because I've been in Oregon and Minnesota

but I don't know a single older person who can mention Bush without spitting his name out or at least speaking it through clenched teeth.

These are the people who remember the Depression. My grandmother didn't live to see Bushboy selected, but she was angry at the Republicans in the Senate for trying to screw the poor and working class, because she remembered the early years of the Depression when there were food riots in Minneapolis, and she was afraid that the same thing would happen again if the rabid Republicans got into power.

[Ernesto]

21. As flying_pig mentioned

The AARP has definetly thrown down the gloves. I'm 58 & just retired (UNION SHEET METAL WORKER), so I joined the AARP just to see what's up with the ol' farts of America.. Well I was blown away when I got my 1st puplication! The mag just lays out the figures and the chimp ain't "smellin' like rose", in fact he stinks............. Just remember, chimp, old people VOTE more than any other age group. And we're voting against YOU

[Guaranteed]

22. One word: WHISTLE-ASS. n/t

[CO Liberal]

23. Slipping as Fast as the Balances In Their 201(k) Accounts

They used to be 401(k) accounts, until Dubya and his cronies screwed up the economy.

[Malva Zebrina]

24. So who is for him?

this idiot of a pathetic , dress em up in any costume wannabe president who had to resort to stealing votes and then resort to illegally becoming a president through his cohorts on the Supreme Court who are as equally as corrupt as he and his minions and his family. Never ever let this happen again in this country. Never ever let any contender just let him have his way. I am sorry, but no one had the guts to stand up to him--and that includes Gore,(and I voted for Gore) Since then, because NO one stood up to him, he has taken us into two horrifice wars where loss of human life is in the thousands, and has taken us into a position where we have abandoned those innocents and we are grabbing for ourselves what we wanted that war for in the first place-greed , hubris and elitism of those who have taken over with ideology that is barbaric--ie PNAC-never ever let this happen again--never--get this idiot and get these persons who are foisting this barbaric philosophy out of the White House--he and his dullard wife--get them out--and never let it happen again.

We are not barbarians. We are not the attackers and the pre-emptive assasinators. We do not seek empire to enrich the fortunes of our corporate friends. Get this maniac out of the government and tell him to take his fat assed, dumb wife with him

[Ernesto]

25. Who supports the chimp?

Let's start with the rich, then religous nuts, gun nuts, white racists, corporate crooks, mean people, homophiles, media whores, Clinton haters and just plain stupid people...... Sounds like a pretty wholesome crowd doesn't it?

[maxanne]

29. my mother

who has brain damage from 40 years of drinking. :shrug:

[wabeewoman]

30. Not all of the rich

There has been a vocal group of rich led by Bill Gates, Sr who do not agree with bush's policies. I think his support is weak even among republicans who aren't the rw religious "conservatives". Anyone with a brain can see the damage being done, the lies, the deficit, the corruption, the arrogance and except for the ditto heads, this is not what americans like. Just think of the MAJORITY of voters who voted for Gore...do you think they now support bush??

[shanti]

33. yechhh!

i think i need a bath now, lol!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

31. Software. Diebold sofware.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. :mad:

[salin]

35. Sadly.. two friends in retirement communities in Indiana

state that their friends LOVE saint George. They are religiously blinded (cult-like).

One group (that goes to daily bible study) - say that there is "documentation" and "pictures" of his conversion (moment of being born again) that "prove" that he is devout - and doing all things in the name of God.

These folks will never be swayed otherwise.

One of my two friends gently ribs her friends (less religiously blind) about the latest exploits of boyGeorge, the other stays mostly silent - but tries to raise policy questions and how it fits with "Christian" actions from time to time.

[jumptheshadow]

26. What does this mean in a pragmatic electoral sense?

What states have the greatest percentage of older voters?

Does this enhance our chances in Florida? (Will the military votes in Florida also trend more Democratic?)

Are there any other closely matched states where the older vote will help to defeat Bush?

[Ernesto]

27. Does a bear defecate in the woods?

Consider the huge numbers of baby boomers maturing now. This is not a good sign for the evil empire.

[fujiyama]

34. Arizona!

A state which was won by Bush, but not by a huge margin, which has been treading somewhat more democratic lately.

I think the demographics (a lot of retirees and latinos, as well as liberals/moderates from CA) of Arizona make it a very tempting battleground for dems.