Report: "President Bush's report card from the public for the first half-year of his second term is not a good one compared with how the public graded Presidents Reagan and Clinton at a similar point in time. Only President Nixon, who had by then begun to tumble into the abyss of Watergate, had a lower presidential approval rating"
When will the media start referring to Bush as an unpopular president? Isn't it about time?
Funny thing, about the cratering of Bush's ratings, is the media has done everything it could to bolster Bush's image. It's like something out of 1984
1) His inability to speak English or complete a sentence off the cuff became "plain talk"
2) His ideological decisions, like Iraq and the tax cuts, became "doing what he thought was right and sticking to his guns"
3) His senseless and repetitive comments became "staying on message"
4) Ignoring Israel's during its time of trouble becomes "being a great friend"
5) His tilt toward the rich is never discussed on TV, nor are the shady origins of his wealth (The Texas Rangers were purchased at three times their market value by the guy Governor Bush gave a no-bid deal to manage the states pension funds)
6) The Iraq pre-war was covered ad nausea, but once it became clear that the war was a quagmire and that the justification Bush gave for the war was either a deliberate lie or an honest mistake, the story disappeared from the airwaves.
Contrast that with the Clinton coverage. The media was discussing the "failed Clinton presidency" before he was even inaugurated. And they completely bought into the GOP-inspired witch-hunt. It's hard to say that the media was friendlier to Clinton than it is to Bush, yet despite the media's best efforts, Bush is the least popular president since Nixon.
Shocking, no?