What if George W. Bush was a DEMOCRAT? How high would his approval rating have been??

One of my clients wants to target liberals on the belief that they are more gullible. During our discussion, this topic came up:

If George W. Bush did everything the same during his two terms - but, if instead of being a Republican, he was a DEMOCRAT - that is, if President George W. Bush was a member of the Democratic party - how high would his approval ratings be?

His rational is that Conservatives expect results from their candidates, and will express disapproval if they don't perform.

Whereas Liberals don't care if their candidate is a felon - so, is being popular is more important than being right?

My client, who is in politics, maintains that if President Bush had been a Democrat for his two terms, his job approval ratings would never have been lower than 60%.

 

I don't know about 60%, but we are definitely better at smearing people than the Repugs, so his approval rating would have to have been at least a bit better. Assuming he took Liberal dogma seriously, we would not be in Afghanistan, and we sure as hell wouldn't be in Iraq. Perhaps the only variable that would dispute your assessment, would be how well the Republicans would be able to stir resentment about doing nothing after being attacked on 9-11. I can see a scenario where even such an inept group as they could do a descent job building angst about us collectively taking it up the ass prison style.

 

No, I'm saying that everything is the same - the USA is in the War in Afganistan, and in the 3rd Iraq War, there was still waterboarding. Bush is euqally inept - EVERYTHING IS THE SAME.

 

If he was a Democrat, then his policies would've been one of that of a Democrat. If so, then his approval rate would've been much higher.

Peace,

 

None The Less he would would still be an idiot democrat or republican. I don't understand how some one with his intelligence could be leader of the so called free world. Just look at the way he handled Katrina for his own citizens. Or even some of his quotes...

Other then that I do think his approval rating would be a little higher as a democrat, but his ratings really collapsed because he really didn't achieve exactly what he had set out to do in Iraq or Afghanistan in his second term.

I do believe that his whole presidency will be judged on his second term, because in the first term he just reacted to what happened, and took action etc, but it was his second term where he should of been more successful with the actions he took but really wasn't, thats what really killed his ratings. But the repugs are taking a hard hit for this water boarding stuff, I think its safe to say GW really didn't represent the party well.

But yeah i do think it would be higher but no where near 60%.

 

What a ridiculous premise.

What if I could fly? Would I be a bird?

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Also: Jimmy Carter left office with pretty low approval ratings. He was a Democrat. Being a Democrat doesn't magically give you high approval ratings. This is just another right wing fairytale to try and explain Barack Obama's popularity away.

Also: Check LBJ + Vietnam. Liberals have no trouble turning on Democrats if they feel they've done the wrong thing.

 

No. GWB would have been derided as the fool he was no matter what party he belonged to. I'm overseas and belonging to repug or dems had no part in me knowing that he was THE worst US president in history.

 

Ah. You're afraid of the question. I thought that might happen.

Bill Clinton was a Democrat, but his policies were that of a Reagan Republican, which in the Democratic Party is today's swing vote (these are, according to James Carville, the voters that elected Obama).

If Bush did EVERYTHING EXACTLY THE SAME, but he was a Democrat, what would his approval rating have been? Or will you run screaming from the question like "azizny"?

 

his approval rating would be at zero. there would be no reason for the paliban to give him their support. democrats would never support stupidity combined with warmongering, torture, attack on civil liberties and other crap that he has done. just like the independents. only people that support palin and joe the plumber can support this level of stupidity.
but my guess would be someone would have stopped him before it gets to this point. democrats unlike the pugs are independent thinker.

 

What if Zibblu made sense?

Let's see, sending troops into Afghanistan, increasing ground troops and special forces in Iraq and starting the 2nd Iraq War (while bombing the crap out of them), accusing Iraq of having Weapons of Mass Destruction, lying to the American people, defying the United Nations, using secret torture prisons overseas, keeping prisoners in Gitmo? Warrantless wiretapping of US citizens? Giving massive government contracts to Haliburton in his first two years in office? Sending US troops to more foreign countries since WWII?

Hey, that's President Bill Clinton!!! Oh, wait, wasn't he a Democrat? so, all of these things President Clinton did were Democratic principles, right?

So, my original question stands. If Bush did everything exactly the same, but he was a Democrat, what would his approval ratings have been???

 

but bush failed in everything that he did. clinton took a more sensable approac. smaller scale and more achivable goals. it is the failure that caused bushes unpopularity

 

ABSOLUTELY! Finally someone willing to state the obvious! I mean what type of uneducated mentally weak individual can't figure out that Joe the Plumber may be the lowest form of life to walk the planet. They should take that guys citizenship away, he doesn't deserve it! He not smart enough to understand that President O. is putting in place policies that work!

And don't even get me started on the Caribou Barbie. What i said about Joe the Plumber goes double for Palin. If she can't keep her own kid from getting knocked up before age eighteen, what good is she? Hell, Bristol couldn't even keep the relationship working. Further evidence that her mother is an idiot. It is unbelievable she has/had an over 80% approval rating in Alaska. It just goes to show you that practically all those people are idiots as well. Idiots en masse. The contagia of stupidity.

With numbers like that, I don't even see how we can call Alaska a state of the union. That many stupid people is an embarrassment. If they didn't have all that damn oil we need, I'd say cut em loose. I guess we will have to tolerate them for their oil in the meantime. I'm glad to see her numbers have fallen off some since the election. Those stupid people just didn't know their own governor well enough and needed some re-education from the media wing of the "lower 48". Maybe not all hope is lost. With enough education, maybe they will quit their god fearing, gun loving, Palin respecting stupidity and join respectable society. They can become a state the rest of us can be proud of.

 

there is no reason to expect joe the plumber have any good idea on how to run the country and the pugs make a fool of themselves by refering to him on anything but the plumbing of their house.
and after such a harsh reaction of the citizens to palin, the fact that the pugs bring up her name again is just goes to prove their lack of common sense and smart thinking.
i diid not read the rest of the stuff that you wrote because it sounded like rambling usually done by pugs.

 

Oh Jesus, another closet Bush supporter.

Your words are in direct contradiction to our dear leader.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ar...s_weekly_address_fiscal_discipline_96180.html

Your failure to identify that Joe the Plumber is a moron because he is full of ideas that don't work makes me suspect you may not really be a liberal. Also of suspicion is your allegation that he might be a reasonable source for plumbing advice. The numerous investigations launched on this imbicile, when he dared question the president to be, exposed the idea that he may not even be a legitimate plumber! You wouldn't have a political pundit look at your plumbing would you? Then you tried to call me a Republican and stated my liberal rant was unworthy of a read? The gig is up. Bush is out of office. It's time to change.

 

After 9-11 Americans wanted blood, and any president who would simply roll over and not go into Afghanistan would have a lower approval rating George Bush and maybe been impeached.

 

only pugs belive in following their leaders no matter what. that is the only reason bush has that 20something approval rating.people like me will never be a blind follower and don't belive that much in leaders either.
the problem is not joe the plumber. he might be able to give good advice on what kind of faucet to use in the new bathrooms in the pentagon. the problem is the politicians that take advice from him regarding the govt and the kind of the weapon systems we should have.

 

OK its confirmed. You are not only not a Democrat, you are incapable of reading.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4961157.ece

Quit saying he is qualified to give plumbing advice! I always get a chuckle when I think about how bad we tooled that guy. I mean, what a scumbag not paying almost $1,200 in back taxes. Then nearly every cabinet position Mr.O. appoints has tens of thousands of dollars owed in back taxes, with Geitner, the guy in charge of collection of taxes, owing a cool $100k. HAHAHA. You want to know why Republicans are wrong? BECAUSE WE SAY THEY ARE!!!! HAHAHAHAHAA.

 

ha ha you don't get it. the real joke was and is the republican party. joe the plumber and palin were the punch line.

 

Oh I get it, and at least on this quote, I can agree. You left out the State of Alaska as well, though I haven't decided whether they are the joke, or the punch line.

 

Ah, so pizzaman is a Communist!

So, so far, my initial analysis stands - if President G. W. Bush had been a Democrat, his approval rating would have been 60%.

Thanks, all!

Ah, he kept the USA safe from another attack for eight years! Even Obama admits that!

Oh, no I see... pizzaman wishes the USA was attacked again, so he could blame Bush again! Would that have made you happy, hmmm???

I agree, it was Clinton's failure that caused Bush's unpopularity!

Finally, someone who understands!