Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Good Move By W

BUSH PASSED OVER CARTER IN POPE FUNERAL PICK

President Bush selected his father and Bill Clinton over Jimmy Carter for the official delegation attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the Carter Center claimed late Tuesday.

"President Carter expressed to the White House a desire to attend the Pope's funeral," an official said. Carter "was informed that the official delegation would be limited to just five people, and there were also others who were eager to attend."

"The Carters always relish the memories of Pope John Paul II being a delightful personal guest at the White House in 1979, on a pope's only visit to our nation's capital city. Subsequently, they visited with His Holiness in the Vatican."

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Before you all (conservatives) are safely on the bandwagon, I thought I should remind you to check yourselves.


Conservatives are attaching themselves like barnacles to the legacy of Pope John Paul II, portraying him as an ideological soulmate of President Bush. Of course, they haven’t always felt that way – especially when the Pope was opposing the President’s policies. Here’s Sean Hannity, from January 2003:

COLMES: …And before you respond, let me just put up what the pope says.

“No to war,” says Pope John Paul II. “during his annual address to scores of diplomatic emissaries to the Vatican… ‘War is not always inevitable,’ he said. ‘It is always a defeat for humanity.’”

Are these a bunch of wild-eyed liberal loonies?

HANNITY: Yes.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if passing over Carter will improve W's record unpopularity?



Gallup: Bush Approval Rating Lowest Ever for 2nd-Term Prez at this Point

By E&P Staff

Published: April 05, 2005 11:45 AM ET

NEW YORK It's not uncommon to hear or read pundits referring to President George W. Bush as a "popular" leader or even a "very popular" one. Even some of his critics in the press refer to him this way. Perhaps they need to check the latest polls.

President Bush's approval rating has plunged to the lowest level of any president since World War II at this point in his second term, the Gallup Organization reported today.

"All other presidents who were re-elected to a second term had approval ratings well above 50% in the March following their re-election," Gallup reported.

Bush's current rating is 45%. The next lowest was Reagan with 56% in March 1985.

More bad signs for the president: Gallup's survey now finds only 38% expressing satisfaction with the "state of the country" while 59% are "dissatisfied." One in three Americans feel the economy is excellent or good, while the rest find it "only fair" or poor.

Gallup noted that more challenges lie ahead for Bush, including public doubts about his Social Security plan and Iraq policies.

Here are the approval ratings for presidents as recorded by Gallup in the March following their re-election:

Truman, 1949: 57%.

Eisenhower, 1957: 65%.

Johnson, 1965: 69%.

Nixon, 1973: 57%.

Reagan, 1985: 56%.

Clinton, 1997: 59% .

Bush, 2005: 45% .

Doug Fields said...

Two people can't always agree. If they do, then one of them's not thinking.

What so connected W and the Pope was their common worldview - one in which life is precious.

In the case of the Iraq war, the Pope saw a lack of violence as peace. W saw the use of violence as justice. The Pope has to adhere to the demands of his office (spiritual), where W has to adhere to the demands of his position (head of state).

Doug Fields said...

One other thing. Bush is either principled or a poll-driven weasel (like Clinton).

How many times has The Left accused W of being a puppet of Rove, the master politician. Now, either Rove isn't earning his paycheck, or W's going to do what W's going to do.

I think this is what the Dems have yet to realize. W sets a course and stays the course. He is the un-politician.

Anonymous said...

I was pleased to see Carter had been excluded. What about Ford?