WP: What the $87 Billion Speech Cost Bush*

[kskiska]

Polls May Indicate That TV Address Eroded President's Support on Iraq

President Bush has often used major speeches to bolster his standing with the public, but pollsters and political analysts have concluded that his recent prime-time address on Iraq may have had the opposite effect -- crystallizing doubts about his postwar plans and fueling worries about the cost.

A parade of polls taken since the Sept. 7 speech has found notable erosion in public approval for Bush's handling of Iraq, with a minority of Americans supporting the $87 billion budget for reconstruction and the war on terrorism that he unveiled.

"If Bush and his advisers had been looking to this speech to rally American support for the president and for the war in Iraq, it failed," said Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup poll. He said Bush's speech may have cost him more support than it gained, "because it reminded the public both of the problems in Iraq and the cost."

Since the speech from the Cabinet Room, headlines on poll after poll have proved unnerving for many Republicans and encouraging for Democrats. "Bush Iraq Rating at New Low," said a CBS News poll taken Sept. 15 and Sept. 16. "Americans Split on Bush Request for $87 Billion," said a Fox News poll taken Sept. 9 and Sept. 10. A Gallup poll taken Sept 8 to 10 pointed to "increasingly negative perceptions about the situation in Iraq" and found the balance between Bush's approval and disapproval ratings to be "the most negative of the administration."

(snip)

Several of these Republicans complained about the decision to have Bush stand and read from a TelePrompTer instead of showing him seated and speaking more conversationally.

"Can you find anybody on Capitol Hill who thinks, 'Boy, that really gave us momentum?' " one presidential adviser asked. "The setting was a failure. The linguistics were bad. The language was off. It wasn't typical Bush language, and he should have been in front of a group. He isn't at his best discussing the appropriations process."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37198-2003Sep19.html

[Don_G]

1. That Speech Opened A Lot Of Eyes

Billions on top of the decifit to be sure but also made people aware of the lies, half-truths and corruption thats a hallmark of this mis-administration.

People are starting to examine the facts a little better, question for themselves and the media is becoming aware of it. Perhaps that is the reason the media have been more critical lately.

[TacticalPeek]

7. A consumer-led media economy.

A guess civic responsibility flows from the living room tv through the camera onto the news desk.

Founding Fathers, thanks anyway for that First Amendment, but, you know, gotta make a living and all.

[kentuck]

2. How would we know the polls do not reflect the new fact about Saddam..

That we have no proof that Saddam was involved in 9/11 which Bush said himself? Could this possibly reflect negatively on the polls? Is it accurate for Gallup to report that polls are dropping because of the $87billion appropriation request?

[eek]

3. ahhhh - so now we begin to understand...

...what this weird week was about:

-aWol distancing hisseff from Heidi Hole*,

- allowing Dan Rather to skewer Rummy in primetime

-demo-tutus being allowedto say anti -Iraq stuff

- Amanpour being allowed to tell the truth etc etc



*this is what I am now calling dick c. Join me, won't you?

[Beetwasher]

4. W Is a Defective Product

"The setting was a failure. The linguistics were bad. The language was off. It wasn't typical Bush language, and he should have been in front of a group. He isn't at his best discussing the appropriations process."

What the fuck did they expect from a turd in a suit? The thrill is gone people. He's history. There's no returning from this kind of shit unless the pull some kind of "miracle" if you know what I mean.

I wrote this the day after his pathetic speech and I stand by it even more today:

Remember when you were a kid and some new toy would come along and the commercials for it were plastered all over the Saturday morning cartoons and before you knew it everyone you knew had one and of course, you had to get one too? It looked so great in the commercial, shiny and fun and promising endless enjoyment. I'm sure it happened numerous times during your childhood. Only, you get the toy and it's not nearly as fun as it looked and it breaks after using it a couple of times. The dissapointment and resentment would well up every time you saw the commercial after that. You knew the truth now and no amount of marketing would ever get you to buy another one of those toys. Maybe they'd sucker you in again for a NEW product, but that toy? History.

Bush is that toy. He was sold to the American people through a marketing and propoganda campaign of epic proportions and they rejected it anyway. 9/11 didn't change Bush, it changed the way the country saw him. The country desperately needed a leader and they projected everything they thought a leader should be into Bush.It could have just as easily been a ham sandwich. Unfortunately for Bush and his bosses, they picked a defective product to foist on the American people.

The lustre has worn off and no amount of PR or marketing or propoganda can bring the people back to once again accept what they now know is a defective product. Bush's neocon bosses might have actually been able to pull off their complete seizure of the country if they had picked a different puppet. Someone who had at least a modicum of competence. Bush is not that puppet. He has neither the competence, the charisma or the intelligence. He's defective through and through right down to the very core of his essence and no amount of propoganda or PR will make people believe otherwise now.

The speech last night was a hail mary for the Bush's neocon bosses and it failed miserably. Everyone's heard it before, it was nothing new, it's was the same old commercial for the same defective toy and people no longer want it and they ain't buying it again.

[diplomats]

8. Excellent analysis, beetwasher

You were prescient.

[blackcat77]

11. Good metaphor

In the aftermath of 9-11, Bush's rhetoric played well with the public, but two years on and he's really delivered nothing concrete to the people. Every new Osama tape is another slap in the face and everything Bush told us about Iraq was wrong, from the WMDs to the throngs throwing flowers to our troops.

And he's fresh out of "miracles." Another attack on our soil -- God forbid -- would only drive his numbers down and after he's totally destroyed his credibility in the run-up to Iraq, they won't buy any more elective wars either.

All he can hope for at this point is for the economy to dramatically turn around, but I don't see how he can pull that rabbit out of a hat. And even the tax cut option is gone since it's become politically unfeasable in light of the deficit.

[never cry wolf]

12. I agree, GREAT analysis!!

Very insightful, well written AND funny, this had me ROTFL!!

"The setting was a failure. The linguistics were bad. The language was off. It wasn't typical Bush language, and he should have been in front of a group. He isn't at his best discussing the appropriations process."

What the fuck did they expect from a turd in a suit?

[Philostopher]

19. Beetwasher, my hat's off to ya'

First, the 'turd in a suit' line actually made me laugh out loud.

Second, your theory that Bush is defective product for the purpose his handlers intended is something I said to my husband just the other night, almost word for word. I told him they did a better job, when they wanted a figurehead who wouldn't argue with them, choosing Ronald Reagan. Reagan might have been about as sharp as a sack of wet mice, too, but at least he could read a script and had enough charisma to carry off the bullshit that was constantly flooding out of his mouth. He was excellent at making people feel like the nonsense he was spewing made sense. Dim Son ain't got that magic, no matter how much coaching they give him.

Spot on.

[saigon68]

28. Excellent

My hats off to you---Outstanding, well written and thought out.

[Ramsey]

32. That really kills me

The biggest concern of the Repukes is that Bush was in the wrong SETTING?? Implying that if they had put him in a flight suit on an aircraft carrier with a big old sock down his pants, we dumbass citizens would happily kiss his feet and give him our first born, along with his $87 billion??

Bush isn't good at appropriations?? No shit!! I think every Dem candidate should quote that line when they hammer on Bush for his failed economic policies!

[Robin Hood]

5. "he should have been in front of a group."

He's like a sitcom. Only funny with a laugh or clap track.

[kentuck]

13. What a great idea !

take one of his absurd speeches about how great the economy is doing or how great we are doing in Iraq and put a laugh track on it - just like a sitcom! The American people would finally understand.

[R Hickey]

24. If Bush had a laugh track on his speeches

I might even watch them.

[snippy]

25. That would make an awesome ad. Call the DNC.

This concept would work on nearly every issue. I would like to see some footage of the Carrier Costume Party with a laugh track. Ridicule would destroy Whistle Ass. The RNC used ridicule very effectively against Gore.

[JNelson6563]

21. yes, because he usually

fills his speeches with applause lines and is sure to pause so the crowd knows when to clap. See if we'd've all hear wild applause when the chimp broke the bad news we'd have been happier. Not.

Idiots.

Julie

[trapper914]

26. And that's exactly what they'll do next time.

They'll fill a crowd with partisan supporters who know when to clap. Thing is, then it's not really an address to the nation. It's a rally. The big 3 networks don't cover rallies live.

Remember his Cincinnati speech last October. * wanted network coverage, but only the 24 hour channels carried it.

[diplomats]

6. You'd think after occupying the WH for amost 3 years

the Bush WH would figure how not to screw up a prime-time address. Maybe Karl Rove isn't such a genius after all.

[joeybee12]

10. If Dumbo worked at McDonald's...

...and you went up to the counter and saw that mug, admit it, you'd change lines because you know a dimwit like that would screw up your order!

[aquart]

18. Karl Rove isn't such a genius after all.

It bears repeating.

[blackcat77]

9. It was a very poor speech

Probably the worst I've seen him give -- flat, emotionless and with no new information except for the $87 billion figure which was 50% higher than the pundits were predicting. In fact, when he dropped that number, I let out a shout and my wife came in to see what all the excitement was about.

The problem is that Bush just keeps changing the standards on the people. The justification for the war is evaporating and the costs just keep going up. There's no exit strategy and all those implied promises of cheaper gas and stability in the region are fading into the distance.

Bush staked his administration on this war and it seems it turned out to be a bad bet. This was the first demonstration of the Bush Doctrine and it gave us a war that was not justified, has not gone as promised and now he's even going back to the nations which he made such a big deal out of denouncing before the war.

And that much-ballyhooed appearance on the aircraft carrier is now being held against him.

It was a bold political move but it seems to be backfiring badly...

[Booberdawg]

14. I do have a sense the tide is turning

have had for several weeks but was afraid to trust it..

[scarface2004]

15. nothing would help....

this pathetic 'turd in suit' face it this jackass is a complete moron, iq probably south of 80. the right wing press better cut out their shit cause they're goin' down and they don't know what it is either!!

[calimary]

16. Yeah, let's see, what can we blame it on, THIS time?

Anything but bush. It's the setting. The room. The podium. The TelePrompTer. The speech.

They are not going to get this right, guys, because they're missing the main point. It's not ANY of those cosmetic accoutrements where the problem lies. It's with the First Liar, himself. It's his message - more death, more chaos, more distruction, and we're billing you more for all of it. As long as they keep avoiding this, they can look forward to more results like this.

[priller]

30. You are exactly right, calimary

It's not any of those trifling concerns, it's the fact that we're having our soldiers killed, our troops stuck over there, and now he wants $87 billion more for goddamn Iraq when we can't afford health insurance or schools or security measures back here at home.

[cliss]

17. I can't add anything to that post, beetwasher,

except excellent.

[lfairban]

20. Let me see . . .

. . . How do you tell someone their kid needs braces and make them happy to hear the news.

[opihimoimoi]

22. Lemme see, the Pubs destroy Iraqi Buildings, etc, and now they

want us to fix it too.??

Oh Oh, and we gatta pay??

[0007]

23. Trot junior out there one more time, 'eh?

Give the shmuch another chance. Bet Karl Rove is getting a good case of diarrhea along with the Carlyle boys.

[cmd]

27. There's no way to dress up that message

The illusion of a pay for itself war was revealed. The fools finally found out they had been deceived.

[saigon68]

29. fools = Sheep

I like the phrase

"The Sheep have been deceived"

[stlsaxman]

31. ... or "Lipstick On A Pig"

to carry further the animal metaphores...

[Paragon]

33. This is exactly what I said at the time

His big mistake was putting the numbers ($87 billion) in the speech. Before then, most of the 70-percent-think-Saddam-caused-9/11 Americans didn't know (or didn't want to know) just how much money Chimp was wasting.