Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Part One of the two-parter, "More Bad News For Bush," displays a number of lovely graphs. What do they say?

Fifty-one percent of those polled say the CIA leak "is of great importance to the nation," more so than a number of other scandals in recent memory. Respondents view the matter as being more serious than the Whitewater witch-hunt (20%), President's Clinton's escapade with Monica Lewinsky (41%), and the Iran-Contra Affair (48%). Only Watergate was rated as more important, and then by only two percentage points in a poll with a plus-or-minus of 3%.

But wait, there's more!

Only 33% have a favorable view of Bush, while 51% view him unfavorably. And if anyone had any medication-induced ideas about Dick Cheney running for President in 2008, his numbers should cancel that notion: A paltry 19% view him favorably, compared to the 44% who consider him to be about as appealing as a turd in a punchbowl.

And then there's the coup de grace: Bush's job approval rating is only 35%, his disapproval rating at 57%, and he's lost the all-important swing vote:

...he gets little support from those Americans who profess no strong ties to either side of the ideological divide. Only 31 percent of Independents and 30 percent of moderates now approve of the job he is doing (nearly the same as a month ago).

Part Two of the carnage, "Poll: Approval Ratings Compared," pours salt in the Bushites' wound by showing how unpopular Bush is compared to other presidents at this point in their second terms, revealing that only Nixon had lower poll numbers -- at the beginning of Watergate.

The article then proceeds to show how dissatisfied Americans are with Bush's performance regarding the War on (Some) Terrorism (47% approve), Iraq (32% approve), and the economy (34% approve).

From there, the story explores how unconfident Americans are about  Iraq's future, their views on certain Supreme Court nominees (and what should be considered by Congress before giving those candidates a thumbs-up), and the most important issues facing the White House:

The economy remains one of the most important issues Americans want the government to address, outranked only by the war with Iraq. These are followed by such issues as terrorism, gas and oil prices, and health care.

...Americans continue to hold a dim view of the state of the country overall. 68 percent say things in the U.S. are pretty seriously off on the wrong track, while just 27 percent think things are going in the right direction.

After that comes some abysmal numbers, as poll respondents rated various administration officials as favorably as UPN's Thursday night line-up, followed by some information the Democratic Party should take note of:

Continuing a trend seen earlier this year, the Democrats in Congress are viewed in a more positive light than the Republicans, although both are low. 4 percent view the Democrats in Congress favorably, while 35 percent say the same about the Republicans.

But the Republicans may be doing a better job than Democrats at satisfying their own constituents. 62 percent of Democrats have a favorable view of the Democrats in Congress, while 29 percent are unfavorable. Among Republicans, 71 percent have a favorable view of Republican members of Congress, and only 20 percent have an unfavorable view.

At this point, I think many Republicans are thinking (and hoping, and praying) that having gone this low, Bush and Company have nowhere to go but up.

Unfortunately (for them) the Abramoff scandal is heating up, Rove is on the way down (his portfolio is getting as thin as his skin), and the legal woes of "Scooter" Libby, Tom DeLay, Bill Frist, and Randy Cunningham (et al) are nowhere near to being resolved. That means more negative press for months to come -- on top of the recently emboldened Democratic Party now ready, willing, and eager to kick the GOPsters while they're down.

2005 has shaped-up into an excellent year; let's ensure that the damage to Bush and the GOP extends well into 2006.