A "Senior Moment" for Bush

I came across this joke on the internet:

At the senior center-- Friday night dance
A very elderly gentleman (nineties), very well dressed, hair well-groomed, great-looking suit, flower in his lapel, smelling slightly of a good after-shave, presenting a well looked after image, walks into the "cocktail lounge" section at the senior center.

Seated at the bar is an attractive elderly looking lady (mid-eighties).

The gentleman walks over, sits alongside her, orders a drink, takes a sip, turns to her and says, "So tell me, do I come here often?"

Well it appears that our President is having one of those moments right now. He calls it an "accountability moment", as in his interview with the Washington Post as reported today:

"We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 elections," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. "The American people listened to different assessments made about what was taking place in Iraq, and they looked at the two candidates, and chose me."

Well that's a nice thought, but what actually was on the voter's minds when they voted? President Bush fails to remember the terribly negative campaign run by the Republican Party where they stooped so low as to compare Senator Kerry and the Democrats to Adolf Hitler on the Bush/Cheney website.

President Bush forgets about all of those one-issue "moral" voters who voted their intolerant views on abortion-rights, gay marriage, and guns.

In fact, as Rasmussen reported on November 8, 2004, only 41% of voters said that National Security was the most important issue. That is less than half Mr. President. And not all of those who said it was most important were voting for you! So mandate this was not. In fact, as Rasmussen summarized:

Overall, on Election Day, 56% of Bush voters named National Security Issues most important. Fourteen percent (14%) said Cultural Issues, 13% Economic Issues, 6% Domestic Issues, and 3% Fiscal Issues.

Kerry voters had a different focus--40% named Economic Issues most important, 24% National Security Issues, 15% Domestic Issues, 6% Cultural Issues, and 4% Fiscal Issues.

So this was no "mandate" on Iraq.

But do you have a mandate today, Mr. President? What do the polls say about Iraq?

As was reported just the other day, the support for your Iraq policy is less than convincing.

The poll, conducted Jan. 7-9, finds 56% of Americans disapproving the way President Bush is handling the situation in Iraq, up from 51% in November. Just 42% approve.

When Americans were asked how well things are going for the war in Iraq, 40% say they are going well, and 59% say they are going badly. This is a decline of 6% in optimism since September.

So please don't tell me how this election was some sort of mandate for your policy in Iraq. The voters didn't believe that in November, 2004, and they don't believe it now in January, 2005.

As Senator Kerry this past week stated in Egypt, on the prospects in Iraq:

"All of the countries of the region have a significant stake in the outcome and yet they are frustrated," Kerry said in Cairo, where he met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"They are frustrated because they don't feel that the steps necessary to be able to advance the stability of Iraq are really being taken,"

John Kerry, we needed you on the 20th to be Inaugurated, but we shall have to wait another four years. America is in line with your understanding on Iraq and the complexities involved in the solution to this problem. We shall be here for you in 2008. Pull us all from the water Senator Kerry!

Bob