When starting up my Firefox today I noticed that my home page of realclearpolitics.com had Bush's latest approval ratings up. I always thought that approval ratings were stupid. I still think that. There are several reasons for this.
First, what do they mean? That some select group of people out there don't like what the president is doing. Who is that group? Are they all in the same area? Are they a group that would not like what he was doing if he was Jesus? I mean, really, who are these people? I don't get polled. Oh wait, I don't have a phone. I have only known one person in my entire life who got polled and it wasn't for approval ratings.
Second, if I was president and someone came in and handed me a report and it said approval ratings I would shred it without looking at it. Something tells me that Bush does that too.
Third, it is not so much what people think of you and how you do your job that matters. It is how you do your job. If you know you're doing your job right than who cares what others think? If, on the other hand, you don't know, then ask people you trust. Don't just ask anyone. I mean, what good is the opinion of dozens of people who don't know you. And furthermore, if your job is something like the presidency then what good is the opinion of a whole bunch of people who will never be president and have no idea how terrible having that much responsibility would be.
That, in effect, is why I think approval ratings are stupid.
Now, I've got to get back to writing. I must apologize, but I can't post excerpts from my book because I fear that people would steal them. It is a science fiction novel about two genetically engineered humans. The main character is neither one of them, however, since you can't have the main character be someone whom no one can relate to. I'll tell you what. In another post, I'll do some plot summary. Some very vague plot summary. And I will get to that Pence post soon. I will.
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7 comments:
We get a lot of calls from the Republican party asking for money but not once have we ever been polled on anything other than a local radio station about ten years ago.
Maxismeg: Oh my gosh! That is so freaking hilarious and cool. Why didn't I ever think of something like that?
Yes, that is the town where I went to college.
Ideally, the President should take no reference to approval ratings, but since his opponents in Congress do, they make a large part of his "political capital" which is a very real factor in Rovian politics. As my earlier post indicated, political capital is a state of mind...if the president didn't believe in it, it would cease to exist, but the fact is, he does, so it will not. I use to think political capital existed, until I observed the Democrats, who obviously observed no such notion.
I'm actually going to concur with Cicerino on this one; Bush has said repeatedly that he doesn't pay attention to polls, but anyone familiar with the way Karl Rove manages campaigns knows that simply isn't true. The political capital issue that he raised is right on the money; back when Bush thought he was safe, he pushed hard for Social Security Dismantlement. Now, he nominates Harriet Miers because he assumed his base would take him at his word and he knew he was losing the middle, so he picked a stealth candidate with no trail. His sinking numbers are also the principal reason he picked a woman; it was a concession to bipartisanship. Well, that backfired, but not in the way he expected: his base rebelled. Now we've got Alito, who could turn out to be a great pick, but all the same he topped all the hardcore conservative shortlists. Rove knows that after 2008 Bush's political career is over; but he's got to keep the numbers up so that Bush doesn't drag the whole party down the drain like Clinton did in 2000.
Here's the question: Does political capital exist?
LC: Political capital means nothing to me. Getting things done does. Whether it exists or not, I guess I just don't care about it.
Maxismeg: I am very sad about this. I'm blue. But thank you for being kind enough to let me know you had to pull your blog.
I agree about the polls. If Bush is the Christian he claims to be, then his duty is to serve God and God only... not to mention, he can't be re-elected anyway, so why should he care. If you listen to about any interview with Condi, you'd see the way he and his "people" (if you will) handle these polls. I have to admire someone who isn't swayed by other's opinions.
And Chris's dad told me about the kid in Hillsdale. I think it's great!
Anyway, good luck with all the writing. Your slight description already sounds great. :) I'll talk to yah later. I'm so busy. Keep praying for the courage to stand up to my bosses. More importantly, I keep praying that I'll have the courage to have God speak through me about their kids because there are 3 little lives that hang in the balance of what is said and done.
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