What one issue or comment is most contributory to Bush's freefall in polls

[kentuck]

Or is it an accumulation of comments or events? From my perspective, I think they started downhill when Gephardt called him a "miserable failure". People knew it but they needed it verbalized for them. Of course we have the present comment by Sen Kennedy about the war being a "fraud". However, in my opinion, it was Bush himself that has contributed most to his freefall in the polls. When he came out a few days ago and said there was never any evidence that Saddam was involved in 9/11, that was the big nail in the coffin. At the time, 70% of the people believed Saddam was responsible for 9/11. He is responsible for his own freefall.

[ShaneGR]

1. Bring it on & No Saddam 9/11 link

Those are the two big ones.

[boxster]

14. What kind of idiot told him to say, "Bring it on!" anyway??

Certainly, it could have been an off-the-cuff remark, but you know that everything he does is scripted. Someone seriously miscalculated on that one.

[ShaneGR]

17. Actually, I think he went off the script

Which is why 99% of the time he stays to the script.

[jfxgillis]

2. That would be "Eighty-

-seven billion dollars."

Critical mass. His support was eroding, okay, it happens, but it was still respectable and all he had to do was stop the bleeding. Perfectly ordinary political problem solved thousands of times by Presidents over the last 70 years by a variety of means. Obvious choice this time: Oval Office statement. Good for 4 to 7 points bump, natch.

They didn't get a teeney bump up to stop the bleeding, they got an unheard-of bump DOWN that opened a vein. SHIT, even NIXON could get that bump up.

[RichV]

3. Agreed.

"87 billion dollars" seems to have finally done the trick. Been in steady decline since that speech.

[synthia]

18. nope.......our candidates did it.......all nine of 'em

on the local news........everynite in a dozen markets every day, week after week.....all nailing him....over and over and over.

sweet, ain't it???

[Jacobin]

30. I remember a couple of them coming out early and bashing Bush

"when bashing bush* wasn't cool"

They are picking up the pace now that its been shown to be ok.

[Jacobin]

4. Yep. That and the UN building blowing up in Iraq

That sent the message that no infidels of any stripe from any country are welcome, IMHO. With that, the delusional dream of setting up a Westernized government in Iraq evaporated, even for the dimwits who support Bunnypants

[cmd]

10. Yep

It wasn't supposed to cost us anything.

[diplomats]

13. I agree

how do you screw up a prime-time address? I mean, at worst you should get a temporary bounce, but a decline is unheard of. I don't know whose idea it was but if Rove had anything to do with it he's lost his touch, big time.

[rucky]

19. Yep. It Was Fun Til We Got The Tab

[eileen from OH]

5. I said this before and I still think it's correct

it's when he put the $87 billion dollar price tag on Iraq. He put a number, a real live dollar amount on it. THAT did it for anyone who had been having doubts.

eileen from OH

[dbt]

6. The 'one-a-day' killings of US troops

finally hit critical mass. And it's kinda strange when you think about that business. Murkins would accept 100, 500, or 1000 deaths in one "glorious battle," but they will not stand for troops getting picked off a few at a time. Too much like Viet Nam, doncha know...

:freak:
dbt

[mlawson]

15. That, plus the 87B, plus the realization that

Dumbo Is Not God, after all. All these together are probably too much, I suspect.

[priller]

7. Yep, the 87 big ones, AND

the admission that "Oh, naw, Saddam wasn't behind 9/11, who said that? We didn't say that. I don't know what Dick was smoking."

[damnraddem]

8. The 16 words in the SOTU speech re uranium, when they resurfaced.

I think that was one of the real tipping points.

But also note that Dubya's polls have always had a tendency to drop from heights reached in sudden bursts following big 'events' -- 9/11, and Iraqi invasion (so far).

[jody]

9. Slow realization that AWOL and friends have been lying, but one third will

never admit they've been had.

[mlawson]

11. Yep. 1/3 was Nixon's core support, when the rest melted down.

It might well be the same for Dumbo. But let's not 'count our chickens' quite yet.

[indepat]

12. The totality of extremism in pursuit of a far hard right (PNAC) ideology

and agenda to the exclusion of everything this country should be all about.

[kentuck]

16. Another point about the polls....

The Bush people are not so concerned about Democrats being against him in the polls but lately, his base has turned against him. This is very worrisome for Rove and the WH...

[peacetalksforall]

20. Missing body parts and deaths resulting from a lie

no weapons number 2

I wish it would be that U S citizens are waking up to the agenda of pnacers and the cabal.

I think many don't think * thinks for himself, but they don't have time to learn who does the thinking for him. Yeah, someone named Rove. And Cheney. Yeah? Who runs Rove and Cheney?

[Junkdrawer]

21. We're stuck with Iraq and he isn't doing a damn thing to get help...

And Today's RW Talking point is: "Things are going really great in Iraq, but that damn liberal press only reports the negatives."

[teryang]

22. It was the 87 billion dollars

They have been working their way into larger and larger extraordinary expenditures. There was over 100 billion in extra expenditures right after 911. Then the 68 billion for the war. The year isn't ever over and he ADMITS to wanting 87 billion more.

Any American car buyer knows this is just another ploy. There is already a story posted that he actually wants 42 billion more than the 87 billion.

This is highway robbery and everyone knows it. The more desparate the future looks for this junta of crooks the more outrageous the demands become. The political extortion isn't working any more. Money is a bi partisan issue.

All a democratic candidate has to do know is to tell people the money is being taken from social security revenues and red ink, and that interest rates will be skyrocketing right after the election. He's finished. Poly sci 101.

Even fundamentalist repubs are disturbed and cynical about these astronomical money demands and the rationalizations behind them. I heard two say today, we sure could use the money here.

[sistersofmercy]

23. I believe it is a combination of the three.

But Kennedy's FRAUD comment forced the saddam/9-11 revelation.

[Resistance Is Futile]

24. 87 Billion Dollars and the Sept 11 flip flop

Nothing wakes the sheeple up like a big bill and the Sept 11 admission drove home the point that the money was being spent as a result of a con job.

[Capn Sunshine]

25. Make that 400 BILLION

according to the latest budget report released by the democratic party budget office
That figure includes interest, which is often ignored by politicians

[FubarFly]

26. Jobs.

Plain and simple. People are paying attention now because they are either out of work, know someone who is out of work, or afraid of being out of work.

In this climate the $87 billion request was a disaster for b*sh. But if the economy was going swimmingly, most people wouldn't bat an eyelash.

[Beetwasher]

27. The Carrier Landing Was When He Jumped the Shark

That's when the real decline began and it's been accentuated and hastened by several events since then, including the yellowcake, the UN bombing, the 87B speech, no 9/11 link, the Fox interview (dead last in the ratings) and now the UN flop, with the steady beat of accumulating bodies and chaos in Iraq and a shitty economy. There's no turning this around, barring a "miracle".

[maha]

28. Combination of economy and money wasted in Iraq

People are putting 2 and 2 together. They were happy to support Iraq as long as it was something fun to watch on TV. But now it's endless amounts of money getting poured down a rat hole in Iraq, and at the same time gasoline costs more than it has in most peoples' lifetime, jobs are getting scarce, salaries are stagnant, and the states are bankrupt.

Comes the dawn.

[Manix]

29. This loser started sliding when he took the oath of office.....

.....its been ALL downhill since!!

[spanone]

31. I think America's parents are wondering why their children are dying

[Starpass]

32. Two economic forces just hit head on and there's blood all over

Remember in '02 we thought we could pin the economy on him but we failed. Found out later that the people knew the economy sucked but didn't blame Bush but rather 9/11. Iraq ain't no 9/11---this is totally Bush. And now that they know it was bogus to boot they are going fucking nuts over the bill and this time ARE pinning it on him. And secondly, they are now looking at it all bleeding out and being shipped over there while they doubt they can surive until and through old age in this country because of it. ITS THE ECONOMY STUPID AND ITS YOUR STUPID WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!