I think he’s lost Al Neuharth

May 5, 2006

USA Today founder [tag]Al Neuharth[/tag], generally known for his Republican views, seems to have officially given up on the president.

How low can [tag]Bush[/tag]’s approval rating go? My hunch is it’s at or near the bottom. That 34% represents mostly unshakeable far-right wingers. Like Bush, Vice President Cheney and company, they are in denial. As were the 24% in the polls who still approved of President Richard Nixon before he resigned in disgrace.

What happened to the 37% who have switched from pro-Bush to anti-Bush? They finally realized they were [tag]suckered[/tag] by Bush and his buddies back then about Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons of mass destruction, his tie to terrorists and his threat to the USA.

President Abraham Lincoln was right when he said: “You may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

OK, Al, tell us how you really feel….

Was it really Lincoln who said that?

  • So that would mean Al Neuharth is somewhere between the 34% and the 35%.

    Nice of him to finally join the reality majority.

  • The polls are now providing us an precise measure of exactly how many people you can fool all of the time. And the number has apparently gone up!

    I believe this can be explained by another recent phenomenon, the inflation of the Barnum Rule. Due to medical advancements, particularly improved pre-natal care, there are now two suckers born every minute.

    We now know how these Barnum babies are voting. Fascinating.

  • You may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

    Obviously, this guy is a moron, he got the quote all wrong. It’s:

    “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, ‘fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me’ — you can’t get fooled again.”

  • I think an interesting poll to conduct would be one that examined approval ratings based on the input from only people who voted in the last presidential election. When it comes down to it, those are the only ratings that matter, because they’re the only ones deciding who is and isn’t in power.

  • It’s not just happening with Neuharth. Over at a discussion board for the hobby I like – one that (at least here in America – not in the rest of the world) seems to attract an overwhelming number of ex-military righties – two guys posted comments about Bush that got the response from someone else that “you’ve been brainwashed by TC!” And then three other people who I would not have expected such a response from said “TC’s been right about this all along.”

    When things like that start happening, I am reminded of my retired-Marine father-in-law, true American patriot, two-time Nixon voter, calling Nixon “that sonofabitch” after The Saturday Night Massacre. At that moment, I knew that Nixon’s days were numbered, that his being kicked out was no longer in question, but merely when it would happen.

    When they lose guys like this, they’re “history.”

  • One of the good things arising from Bush’s poor performance is that there seems to be less polarization here in the heartland. Is Bush finally uniting the country? But on the other hand, if Bush is getting a “D” performance rating, that is pretty close to mediocrity and that seems to be good enough for lots of Americans who think he can bring it up to “C”, his goal in life. Trouble is, can America survive on Cs and Ds? Bush thought he could read over Cheney’s shoulder, but when Cheney flunks the test…we are in a world of shit.

  • Speaking of polls and Bush’s approval rating, did anybody see this article over at ABC News’ website?

    In addition to Bush’s 33 percent, there’s this:

    A majority of Americans say they want Democrats rather than Republicans to control Congress (51 percent to 34 percent). That’s the largest gap recorded by AP-Ipsos since Bush took office. Even 31 percent of conservatives want Republicans out of power.

    The souring of the nation’s mood has accelerated the past three months, with the percentage of people describing the nation on the wrong track rising 12 points to a new high of 73 percent. Six of 10 conservatives say America is headed in the wrong direction.

    Republican strategists said the party stands to lose control of Congress unless the environment changes unexpectedly.

    If the Republicans lose Congress, Georgie Boy won’t be “a lame duck,” his regime will be “a dead duck.”

  • It’s beginning to look like Bush’s greatest accomplishment will be to provide an answer to the question of just how many people you can fool all of the time; as of now, the best estimate is a maximum of 33%.

  • Tom Cleaver: You’re so right. I remember when Bush first attacked Iraq, I was at a business lunch round table with a lot of strangers. Typically unconstrained, when the conversation turned to Bush and Iran, I bitterly said this was obviously another unjustified Vietnam situation, that chaos and blood lust would reign and we wouldn’t be able to get out. One of the guys at the table, a former military man, told me in stern, no uncertain terms–just, wait and see, the civil affairs people will move in and, like a well oiled machine, put the country back together again, better than ever. He bought the whole load of s**t then and I’ve often wondered what he’s thinking now. He’s either “see no evil” or so devastated about the lies and incompetence of that sonofabitch that he’s joining MoveOn.

    Slip kid: the question is, how many of those people who would prefer a Democratic Congress are willing to sacrifice their own representatives to get it.

  • To David Mastio
    You wrote:
    The idea that Al is a Republican is a joke. I worked with his column as a USA Today op-ed editor and I can tell you, he’s all over the place.
    Here’s the column archive so you can judge for yourselves:
    http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/neuharth/index.htm

    I followed your link but Al’s former column about Bush posted 09/22/2005, title: Bush deserves better than these low ratings, has disappeared. What to conclude?

  • Dumbya is in trouble is undeniable but his cronies are not all the problem. His stupid policies are. It is his policies, not his crony advisers that have given us huge federal debt1.2 trillion over the next decade, 12 million illegal aliens, a massive trade deficit running at $800 billion a year and a no-win $400 billion war that is bleeding our country fiscally. Chief architects of the war in Iraq – President dumbya, VP Deadeye Dick and Defense Secretary Donald H. Dumbsfeld are three blind mice. They could see the desert mirage of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but can’t see Iraq now spiraling in civil war with 138,700 U.S. troops caught in the middle. dumbya is now road kill on the rethugilican political super highway.

  • I’ve read commentary from Al that was not flattering to Bush. He was pissed about the Iraq war.

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