Bush's Back-and-Forth Reflects Rift in Party -WaPo

He flew halfway across the country in a vain effort to save her life, but in the week since, President Bush has retreated back to his ranch and remained largely out of sight as the nation wrestled with the great moral issues surrounding the fate of Terri Schiavo.
...
.....Now he faces a major Republican rupture.

Polls show the vast majority of Americans, including conservatives and evangelical Christians, disapprove of the decision by Bush and Congress to get involved in the Schiavo matter. And more worrying for the White House, those polls have also shown a significant drop in Bush's overall approval ratings.

"It's been a very sticky issue for the president," said Stephen Moore, a Bush ally and president of the Free Enterprise Fund, which promotes limited government. "I think no matter what course he took, he was going to come under criticism. I personally believe Bush would have been better off not intervening at all."

The case came at a time when Bush was struggling to sell his plan to overhaul Social Security. "This is the second bad thing to happen to him this year, Social Security being the first," said Andrew Kohut, executive director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. "We've had a week that I don't think they can count on advancing their agenda."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3797-2005Mar26.html

"shittin'" in his own bed. Now he has to lay in it.

Too bad, it's just a rupture. But, I'll take it.

We have to make sure that this rupture remains so. Most Americans have short memories. Let's keep reminding them of the hypocrisy every chance we get!

I feel SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for him

(NOT!)

KMA *

when presented with an intelligence briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike Within US", he continues his tree-trimming, path-walking, shrub-labelling, bull-shitting vacation in Crawford in freaking-hot August.

Keep repeating that.

playing golf couple of days after 9-11

going for a bike ride when the tsunami hit

no interuptions of his vacation for the Minnesota school shooting

but let a feeding tube be removed.... whoooooaaaa
http://radfringe.tripod.com/id1.html

guess the number of dead is just too large to comprehend... reminds me of an old joke:

A VP of a company was reviewing finance statements and was shocked to see the company losing money.

He quickly issued memos directing staff to cut back on office supply purchases such as paper clips, and pencils.

When his assistant pointed out that there were millions of dollars being wasted in other areas but only pennies(in comparison)wasted for office supply the VP replied "I don't understand millions, but I do understand pennies..."

"It's been a very sticky issue for the president," said Stephen Moore, a Bush ally and president of the Free Enterprise Fund, which promotes limited government. "I think no matter what course he took, he was going to come under criticism. I personally believe Bush would have been better off not intervening at all."
------------------------------------------------------

That Bush could have vetoed or refuse to sign the bill.

If Bush had refused to sign the bill or vetoed it he would have made Frist, Delay, and the rest of the Repug leadership look like total horses asses and there is no way in hell they would have been willing to support the rest of his political agenda. And, add to that the nuts that he calls his core supporters would blame him for her death and they are the ones that will be remembering Terri several years from now. He could send several more thousand Americans to die in Iran and his core supporters wouldn't care, but if he didn't sign that bill they would be angry at him for years.

but he didn't have to fly back to Washington. It could have been signed from his precious ranch. Nope, pure and simple grandstanding.

Check this quote:

Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist, said the party was a victim of its own success in persuading the public over the last decade that the federal government should play a less intrusive role in American life. Luntz said Congress would suffer more sustained damage because lawmakers were more visible in the matter.

So, does this qualify as "catastrophic success"?


But just as importantly, he said, the issue has chipped away at the political coalition on which Bush has relied. "No matter how you look at the polls, it has opened up an ideological fault within the GOP," Luntz said. "That's why some people in Washington were so shocked when the first poll numbers came back."

By George, ((snarf)) I think he's GOT IT!

This photo with the article is by far the worst of * that I've seen. Proof how lying, grasping, robbing and killing will age a person.

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/images/I3921-2005Mar26L

Somehow, the pix will not copy, but here's the caption with the photo at the link:

President Bush hurriedly flew back to Washington March 20 to sign legislation in the Terri Schiavo case, but has since said little about it.

Photo Credit: J. Scott Applewhite -- AP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3797-2005Mar26.html

Not only was this picture taken way past his bedtime, he interrupted his vacation.

& did something veerrry bad to it!

To find themselves sailing over the cliff and nobody following?

Now, why?

Uh, aren't they supposed to be independent?

supposed to be out on the road, "60 cities in 60 days", or Around the world in 60 days,or something like that. Pushing his Social Security Dog and Pony Show.

Whatever happened to that?

the less support he gets. The rest of the world reacted the same way to his case for the invasion of Iraq.

"This is the second bad thing to happen to him this year, Social Security being the first," said Andrew Kohut, executive director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. "We've had a week that I don't think they can count on advancing their agenda."



Excuse me?? Happened to him?? Nothing happened to him at all and btw 9/11 didn't happen to him either.

But just as importantly, he said, the issue has chipped away at the political coalition on which Bush has relied. "No matter how you look at the polls, it has opened up an ideological fault within the GOP," Luntz said. "That's why some people in Washington were so shocked when the first poll numbers came back."

<snif>

is with the rest of the country.

What did that Repug talking points memo say? That this would be good for them politically?


Hahahahahahaha!!!!!

just when think they have gone to the lowest point they manage to find the down button on their elevator to hell.

Savage in this article by merely mentioning him.
Still funny considering its the WP!

I'm not sure when it was taken, but he looks EXTREMELY OLD, like a little old man.

UGH!

instructed to make him look like he is concerned and stressed out about this poor woman.

Bush during 2000 Campaign

Maybe he was on spring break ...

Either that or he's seriously slipping.

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

But, But I thought he said he never listens to polls, reads newspapers, how did he know to do this flip-flop, anyone have the answer?

ByPeter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 27, 2005; Page A06


WACO, Tex., March 26 -- He flew halfway across the country in a vain effort to save her life, but in the week since, President Bush has retreated back to his ranch and remained largely out of sight as the nation wrestled with the great moral issues surrounding the fate of Terri Schiavo.

The president has said nothing publicly about the bitterly contested case since Wednesday, when reporters asked about it and he said he had exhausted his powers to intervene. On Saturday, as he used his weekly radio address to express condolences to the victims of a school shooting in Minnesota and extol a "culture that affirms life," he did not mention the most prominent culture-of-life issue in the public eye.

President Bush hurriedly flew back to Washington March 20 to sign legislation in the Terri Schiavo case, but has since said little about it.
_
The juxtaposition of racing through the night in Air Force One to sign legislation intended to force doctors to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube and choosing not to use his bully pulpit to advocate for her life afterward demonstrates how uncomfortable the matter has become for the White House. For years, Bush has succeeded politically in stitching together the disparate elements of the conservative movement, marrying the libertarian and family-values wings of his party. Now he faces a major Republican rupture.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3797-2005Mar26.html?sub=AR

This is what seems to happen when a leader has no core values or integrity.
Whom does one pander to and how much ?
So is he hiding under a rock in Crawfish TX ?
Unbelievable.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that even though Bush has not commented on the Schiavo cast in recent days, he has been receiving "regular updates from his staff" and "is saddened by this extraordinary case."

Regular updates from his staff? All he'd have to do is turn on cable news.

She added, "President Bush supports all those who stand up to defend life."

Randall Terry, Hal Turner, and other terrorists - are you listening?

oppose his Imperialistic wars that have resulted in over 100,000 lives?

Is that a typo in the original story?

I just copied and pasted. Freudian slip?

A movie must be in the works!

His handler$ told him to do it. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.

Whatever.

or he hates more of us now. Damned culture of death surrender monkeys!

... that the fact that Americans oppose Bush's government intervention in the Schiavo case is proof that he cares more about doing the right thing than about doing the popular thing. So why have he and Tom DeLay gone into hiding, if they're so certain that they're on the right side of this issue? Could it be because they miscalculated (as they did in Iraq) that they would be viewed as Terri's "liberators"?

the only time I saw him on TV about this issue, he was attempting to vilify Mr Schiavo. It was pathetic to say the least.. I just wanted to reach through the TV and shake the shit out of him for being such an asshole!!