Forget the polls for a minute. If you want to know if the public is beginning to tire of Bush and Cheney, take a look at Americans’ interest in directly hearing what the two have to say.
I noticed (via TBogg), for example, that Cheney was in New Hampshire this week for a Republican fundraiser in Manchester. How was the turnout to meet and greet the Vice President in person? Not great — hosts said fewer than 90 people showed up.
In fact, the Nashua Telegraph reported that twice as many people showed up outside the fundraiser to protest Cheney than paid to get inside to meet him.
Keep in mind, New Hampshire is not, say, Vermont. This is supposed to be a GOP stronghold. The Granite State has voted Republican in seven of the last nine presidential elections. It was the only state north of Ohio to vote for Bush in 2000. Fewer than 90 state Republicans are willing to show up for a Cheney fundraiser?
Adding insult to injury, New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson (R) and his wife made an appearance at the event, but left halfway through Cheney’s speech.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Bush didn’t fare much better this week, inviting Fox News Channel into the Oval Office for an exclusive interview…that no one watched.
As Reuters reported, FNC’s one-hour interview with Bush — aired on Fox — came in “dead last in the hour among the six major broadcast television networks in both total viewers and audiences aged 18 to 49.”
Fewer people tuned in to hear Bush’s take on Iraq and the state of domestic affairs than tuned into UPN for a comedy called “The Parkers.” (Don’t feel bad, I’ve never heard of it either.)
In some ways, it’s a shame people didn’t watch. They missed a pretty disturbing Bushism.
FNC’s Brit Hume asked Bush about military progress in Iraq. Bush said, “I don’t think they’re going badly. I mean, obviously I think they’re going badly for the soldiers who lost their lives, and I weep for that person and their family. But no, I think we’re making good progress.”
That’s right. Bush said things are “going badly for the soldiers who lost their lives.”
I’ll just offer that one without additional comment.