In California, Bush Numbers Plummeting

Despite Orange County, John Wayne and Ronald Reagan, just to name a few conservative icons in my state, California has been trending Democratic in recent years. But even California Republicans are beginning to turn away from Bush for various reasons. The San Jose Mercury News carries the story by Steven Harmon of Media News:

California Republicans, increasingly disenchanted with the war in Iraq, are beginning to abandon President Bush, a development that may threaten the GOP's chances in the 2008 presidential race.

California on the whole trends Democratic, and Bush's approval numbers have always been lower here than elsewhere, but for the first time in his presidency, less than half of Republicans in the state approve of Bush's job performance, according to two statewide polls, driving overall support to all-time lows.

The GOP disaffection comes at a time when Bush's former top campaign strategist, Matthew Dowd, criticized Bush for losing his bond with voters and failing to heed the public's concerns on the war.

In the Field Poll, 49 percent of Republicans support Bush - down from 61 percent in September, while, in the San Jose State University Survey and Policy Research Institute poll, 46 percent approve of his performance - down from 58 percent only two months ago.

I think all Americans are bewildered by Bush. Usually, Republican or Democrat, a president who makes blunders and sags in the polls tries to get his act together and turn things around. Not Bush. For George W. Bush, it's full steam ahead, straight toward the edge of the cliff. Not only is it painful to watch, The Decider's behavior is damaging every one of us and it's going to take time to undo the damage when Bush is gone.

I think John Edwards is right: we can't wait two years for the next president. Every American needs to think of ways of repairing the damage right now, whether, just to name a few, it's cutting down on energy, cleaning up rivers, educating people about the need to reform healthcare, talking about the kind of stupid prejudices that are putting our country at risk, and maybe learning to think again as a community rather than thinking as millions of individuals wondering, "What's in it for me?" We've got to start doing better now.