"Three in five Americans want the next U.S. president to be completely different from incumbent George W. Bush, according to a poll by Time magazine."

[cross-posted at And, yes, I DO take it personally]

oh, lord... not as if we haven't figured out long ago how this man-child we call a president behaves but, heaven help us, it's playing out now to the bitter end...

"We're just plodding along," admitted a senior Bush aide from deep within the West Wing bunker. "It's up to the President to turn things around now."

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
November 23, 2005

A majority of U.S. adults believe the Bush administration generally misleads the public on current issues, while fewer than a third of Americans believe the information provided by the administration is generally accurate, the latest Harris Interactive poll finds.

64% of Americans believe that the White House generally misleads the public to further its political agenda while 32% believe the WH is being generally accurate.

What makes these results interesting is that the numbers aren't issue specific. This is about the WH SOP.

How do you turn your numbers around when no one believes anything you say?

The new, state-by-state Survey USA Bush approval rating poll numbers are in and it makes for this interesting map.

My question is what are the people in Utah, Wyoming, Mississippi and Idaho thinking? The approval numbers have actually GONE UP in those states since the 2004 election. 20+ percent in Utah and Idaho. What's in the water out there?

Question of the Day:

Are war critics "irreponsible" for saying the Bush Administration manipulated the evidence?

Here's the direct link to vote.

Here's my question: Is MSNBC "irresponsible" for posting such a blatantly slanted poll? How about, "Did the Bush Administration manipulte the evidence to go to War?"

Bush came out swinging Friday.  With his poll numbers tanking and congressional Republicans acting like rats abandoning a sinking ship, Bush, typically, used his Veteran's Day speech not as a way of honoring the troops but as a political hammer to lash out at Democrats for having the gall to question his White House's handling of pre-war intelligence.  Ken Mehlman went on the offensive as well, as did all the regular GOP soldiers anxious to fight back the truth.  Unfortunately, none of them seem to realize that an emotional tipping point has been reached. Voters no longer want to give Bush the benefit of the doubt.

Holy Shit.  Even the choir isn't showing up for the sermon.

Read it and cheer here.

Buried and scattered within an MSNBC story about the newest dismal poll for Bush are the following interesting tidbits:

... the CIA leak scandal seems to be taking a toll on the administration, with nearly 80 percent believing the indictment of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, is a serious matter ...

...Libby was indicted by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak investigation.

... The CIA leak investigation also seems to be dogging the Bush administration. Seventy-nine percent think that Libby's indictment is a serious matter. (Libby has since resigned from the administration.)

.. Democratic pollster Jay Campbell of Hart Research notes that Americans are paying attention to this CIA leak investigation. "They think there is something real here," he says. "This is a really big deal."

These, in their entirety, are the references to the CIA leak.

Would I vote for Vinick or Santos? On which issues do I agree more with Santos, more with Vinick? Who would be more likely to stop to help if I had a flat tire? Who would I rather have to dinner? Who would I rather leave my child with? Would I vote for Alan Alda for any federal office? Would I vote for Jimmy Smits for any federal office?

I'd vote for Jimmy Smits in a heartbeat. I've had a major crush on him forever, and it went through the roof and never came down when he kissed me on the cheek during a Dukakis event in 1988. Jimmy Smits for whatever he wants to run for.

Zogby will poll me again after next Sunday's live Vinick-Santos debate. I'll report back if you're interested.