# Will Bush make it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 22, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773 "2007-07-22T20:16:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/21 "2007-07-23T09:59:45Z")
I do not believe it can go much lower and I don’t think he’ll break the Truman record. There are a core of people that would support him no matter what, and I believe the numbers of current supporters that might jump off his bandwagon are quite small. He’s very near as low in support as it is possible for him to go. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/22 "2007-07-23T10:18:24Z")
I’m reminded of this amusing quote from somewhere or other. > [@](#): > > John: Hey, Bush is now at 37% approval. I feel much less like Kevin McCarthy screaming in traffic. But I wonder what his base is – > > Tyrone: 27%. > > John: … you said that immmediately, and with some authority. > > Tyrone: Obama vs. Alan Keyes. Keyes was from out of state, so you can eliminate any established political base; both candidates were black, so you can factor out racism; and Keyes was plainly, obviously, completely crazy. Batshit crazy. Head-trauma crazy. But 27% of the population of Illinois voted for him. They put party identification, personal prejudice, whatever ahead of rational judgement. Hell, even like 5% of Democrats voted for him. That’s crazy behaviour. I think you have to assume a 27% Crazification Factor in any population. > > John: Objectively crazy or crazy vis-a-vis my own inertial reference frame for rational behaviour? I mean, are you creating the Theory of Special Crazification or General Crazification? > > Tyrone: Hadn’t thought about it. Let’s split the difference. Half just have worldviews which lead them to disagree with what you consider rationality even though they arrive at their positions through rational means, and the other half are the core of the Crazification – either genuinely crazy; or so woefully misinformed about how the world works, the bases for their decision making is so flawed they may as well be crazy. > > John: You realize this leads to there being over 30 million crazy people in the US? > > Tyrone: Does that seem wrong? > > John: … a bit low, actually. Personally, I think that anyone who still supports him will support him almost no matter what. The thing most likely to happen ( and I think it a significant possibility ) that would push him below Truman, IMHO, would be the use of nuclear weapons on Iran. That _might_ do it, but I wouldn’t bet on it. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/23 "2007-07-23T11:34:01Z")
He’d have to alienate his base: raise taxes on the rich, legalize gay marriage, or increase health care for uninsured children. Or speak in favor of any of these things. He could still alienate a few more of his base supporters by continuing to make it obvious that he doesn’t fear or hate Mexican immigrants. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/24 "2007-07-23T11:48:56Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] I don’t understand the true believers, but I know they’re out there. I heard some interviews on NPR the other day with people in Omaha, Nebraska. One woman explained that she still supports Bush and that our continued involvement in Iraq is worth it because (not making this up): “They’re keeping the Muslims out of our country.” None of the arguments we make here are ever going to get through to some folks. [/QUOTE] I heard that interview, too. For every yin, there’s a yang, huh? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/25 "2007-07-23T12:59:58Z")
[QUOTE=madmonk28] I also think he is near his floor and won’t sink much lower. When I read about his low approval ratings, they always seem shockingly high to me. **Who are the people who support him?** [/QUOTE] I don’t know _who_ they are, but if you want to know _where_ they are, feel free to stop by. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/26 "2007-07-23T14:22:01Z")
Bushies like to brag that their man received the most votes for president ever in the 2004 election, which of course is just a function of the country’s population being the highest ever. Using that same logic, it seems to me that Bush is already the least popular president ever. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/27 "2007-07-23T19:05:44Z")
[QUOTE=madmonk28] I also think he is near his floor and won’t sink much lower. When I read about his low approval ratings, they always seem shockingly high to me. Who are the people who support him? [/QUOTE] Bush’s supporters consist of an amalgamation of people who variously admire his Christianity, hate taxes, think Iraq was behind 9/11, think using the military makes us strong and want abortion and homosexual unions banned. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/28 "2007-07-23T19:59:49Z")
When Bush first dipped into the 30’s two years ago, many folks, both among his supporters and his detractors, believed that he’d hit “bedrock”; he’d done everything that he possibly could do wrong, and there simply wasn’t any way he could lose more supporters. Like so many others, they misunderestimated Bush. He continues to find a way. He’s come this far. Surely he’ll find some method to shed another four percent. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/29 "2007-07-23T23:26:16Z")
Moving debate-disguised-as-poll from IMHO to Great Debates. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/30 "2007-07-23T23:45:03Z")
According to the latest [Washington Post poll](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/23/AR2007072301143.html?nav=rss_politics), 75% of self-described Republicans approve of Bush’s performance. Do people have to state their approval in order to get their methodone or something? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/31 "2007-07-23T23:59:45Z")
> **[Bush Approval Rating Tumbles To 25 Percent](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bush-approval-rating-tumb_n_57417)** > > Bush Approval Rating Tumbles To 25 Percent Keep the faith . He can do it. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/32 "2007-07-24T02:09:03Z")
I agree that he’s down to the core group of supporters. I think it will take higher gas prices to knock Bush’s approval rating much lower. See this [web page](http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/) and [this image](http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/files/gasindex-long_files/zzzBUSHINDEX_24497_image001.gif). If gas hits $4/gallon, I think you’ll hear serious talk of impeachment. If it hits $5/gallon, I think you’ll see his former supporters storming the White House. Consequently, the Bush Administration will not let gas get much higher than the current $3-ish/gallon. We’ll just have to wait out the days until 01/20/09. I wish the people who face the consequences of Bush’s bad actions (for example, our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, the poor in the US, etc.) had a better chance than waiting out the days. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/33 "2007-07-24T02:51:09Z")
While Bush’s approval rating is not yet the lowest on record, Bush already has the number one spot secured with the highest disapproval rating on record. His weekend colonoscopy merely confirms he’s the biggest asshole president in history. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/34 "2007-07-24T02:52:59Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] According to the latest [Washington Post poll](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/23/AR2007072301143.html?nav=rss_politics), 75% of self-described Republicans approve of Bush’s performance. Do people have to state their approval in order to get their methodone or something? [/QUOTE] No, they are simply detached from reality. They approve of his performance because it’s the performance they hear from the right wing media machine. Not the performance noted by that silly reality based community. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/35 "2007-07-24T02:57:37Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] … Not the performance noted by that silly reality based community. [/QUOTE] You and your typos! That’s reality _ **biased** _ community. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/36 "2007-07-24T03:20:40Z")
And here I thought this was another thread on if or if not Bush will make it through his term (i.e. if he will be impeached). As to the OP, I’d have to say…depends. The economy is doing pretty good (by any impartial standard), gas prices are high but seem to be stabilizing (here they have actually fallen about $.15/gallon since the 4th of July high) and the war in Iraq is…well, about the same really. Perhaps a bit worse. Its all going to hinge on that though…and on how the US public continues to view the war and perceive how its going. My GUESS though is that Bush has fallen in the polls about as far as he is likely too, considering the support he still gets from the Republican hard liners (like my dad who STILL like the guy :rolleyes: ). -XT ---
**Author:** ![CanTak3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@CanTak3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanTak3)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/37 "2007-07-24T03:21:51Z")
Definately! I read recently about a group of historians that picked W as the worst president ever. This is very significant because most historians will NEVER comment on a sitting president. (It’s not yet history after all). Draft all W voters first! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/38 "2007-07-24T03:29:10Z")
[QUOTE=Martin Hyde] …I think Franklin Pierce is the worst President we ever had… this _nearly_ treacherous view that he took of the war in my opinion makes him the worst President we ever had. Some would argue that is unfair, because he wasn’t President when he sent letters to his pal Jeff Davis, but I think it reveals his general outlook and how important the union was to him. Anyone that could support the Confederacy, who had, not ten years before, taken an oath to lead the country and protect the constitution was an innately flawed man. [/QUOTE] Well, on those grounds, I’ll see your Franklin Pierce and raise you John Tyler. Tyler endorsed secession and was actually elected to the provisional Confederate Congress before dying Jan. 18, 1862. Scumbag. As to the OP: alas, I think Truman will continue to hold the record. But I’d love for him to lose it, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving than Bush (since Nixon missed the mark). ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/39 "2007-07-24T12:38:59Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] You and your typos! That’s reality _ **biased** _ community. [/QUOTE] Yup. Everyone knows about reality’s liberal bias. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773/40 "2007-07-24T15:00:04Z")
I suspect yes. Bush’s legacy is inexorably be tied to Iraq. His administration has turned that oil-rich nation into a flashpoint for terrorist activity. Two of America’s biggest headaches moving forward are our oil addiction and being terrorists’ favorite enemy. And I sadly believe that both of those situations are going to get worse before they get better. The only way Bush will get off the hook is if his successor (or successor’s successor, etc.) focks it up even worse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-make-it/412773.md?page=3)