It’s been all over the Internets today, but President Bush has set a new record for citizen disapproval. With a 69% disapproval rating, he beat Harry Truman’s previous high of 67% during the Korean War. The polls only go back as far as FDR. I don’t think we’ll be seeing a Truman-esque revival of Bush. I think he’ll be hanging out with Harding in the Presidential polls.
Not to be picky but, “His job approval rating of 22 percent in the Gallup Poll as of February 1952 was actually lower than Richard Nixon’s was in August 1974 at 24 percent, the month that Nixon finally resigned.” according to :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman#Legacy
Regardless of the % points up or down a little, you may find history treats W much like Truman in the clear light of day. Emotions have an enormous effect on present day opinion.
Obviously there is no way to know for sure what the future will bring, and I am by no means objective on this point, but I just don’t foresee a Trumanesque revival of the Bush II legacy.
As I see it, the debt is up, national security is degraded, infrastructure is being ignored, civil rights are being violated. And, once the veil of secrecy lifts from executive branch records, I doubt the things they reveal will cast a more positive light on The Decider.
But, I fully acknowledge my perception is wildly jaundiced at this point.
Doug: “But, I fully acknowledge my perception is wildly jaundiced at this point.”
Precisely my point. I respect you for being honest enough to admit that.
Bush is not a Democrat. There is no way that he will ever get a fair hearing from historians (much like Harding, in fact).
Truman has a key advantage over Bush. He was a Democrat.
Hillary’s Plan to Help Indiana Parents Balance Work and Family
Hillary Clinton has a bold plan to help Indiana parents manage the responsibilities of caring for their children and their aging parents, while meeting the demands of their work responsibilities.
More and more families are headed by two working parents, and today’s parents work longer hours than ever before. As a result, American parents have 22 fewer hours a week to spend with their kids than they did in 1969. A 2002 report by the Families and Work Institute found that 45 percent of employees say that work and family responsibilities interfere with each other, and 67 percent of working parents say they do not have enough time with their children.
Hillary Clinton believes that as these new challenges confront America’s families, our policies need to catch up. That’s why she has a work-family agenda for our modern economy. This bold effort will give Indiana parents the support they need to more effectively balance work and family obligations. And it will work in partnership with America’s businesses to ensure that pro-family work policies and increasing workplace flexibility helps improve American competitiveness and economic growth. Hillary’s work-family agenda includes:
A New $3,000 Caregiving Tax Credit. Hillary will offer a new $3,000 Caregiving Tax Credit to any person with substantial long-term care needs or to their caregivers. On average, unpaid caregivers pay more than $5,000 in out-of-pocket costs, often dipping into their savings or forgoing their own health care. The credit will not require a complex accounting of out-of-pocket costs, but instead would be available directly to any individuals with substantial long-term care needs or their caregivers. Hillary’s Caregiving Tax Credit would provide generous new assistance to at least 104,000 Indiana residents [CRS, 2007; Census 2007].
A New Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Credit. Hillary will offer a new tax credit to help those planning for their long-term care needs afford high-quality insurance policies that are right for them. This new tax credit will cover 75 percent of long-term care insurance premiums up to $1,500 per year for qualified long-term care insurance policies that meet strong new consumer protection requirements. The credit will reward middle-class families that take steps to prepare for their long-term care needs. Hillary’s new Long Term Care Insurance Tax Credit would benefit at least 180,000 seniors and near-retirees in Indiana [www.ahipresearch.org (p. 27)].
Paid Family Leave. Hillary will expand the Family Medical Leave Act to cover employers with 25 or more workers, a change that will provide legal protection for unpaid leave to 13 million additional workers. Hillary will also create a State Family Leave Innovation Fund to support the establishment and expansion of state-level leave programs for new parents and those caring for their aging parents. She will ensure that every state has a paid leave program by 2016. In Indiana, this proposal could impact many of the 2.2 million private-sector workers who do not have paid family leave [Institute for Women’s Policy Research].
Equal Pay for Equal Work. Today, American women earn just $.77 for every dollar men earn. And for African American and Latinos, the disparity is even worse. African American women earn .68 cents and Hispanic women earn only .57 cents for every dollar men earn. On average, the wage gap costs families $4,000 a year. As one of 16 female U.S. Senators, Hillary has championed this issue. She introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would toughen the penalties associated with violating the Equal Pay Act; strengthen the ability of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to crackdown on equal pay violations; prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share their salary information with their co-workers; reward model employers; and more. In Indiana, women who work full time earn 72.6 percent of what men earn [Institute for Women’s Policy Research].
Seven Guaranteed Sick Days for Full Time Workers. Forty-four percent of all workers in Indiana do not have sick leave. These workers must go to work sick or forgo pay when they become unexpectedly ill. Hillary will ensure that every full-time worker has access to 7 sick days. Part time workers will receive a proportional share. Part time workers will receive a proportional share. Hillary’s policy would impact the 1.2 million workers in Indiana without access to sick leave [National Partnership for Women & Families].
Increased Funding for Child Care. Hillary has worked to expand access and improve quality of child care in our country for decades. The Bush Administration has essentially frozen the level of child care funding for the last eight years. As a result, the real purchasing power of child care subsidies has fallen significantly. According to the Bush Administration’s own estimates, 300,000 children will lose child care assistance by 2010, and 150,000 have already lost child care assistance since 2000. Hillary believes we need to increase child care funding through the Child Care and Development Block Grant and return the program to it’s original intent: to serve working families. Hillary’s policy would help the 330,000 children under six in Indiana who need child care [National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies].
M WAHRRD JADOON
WORLD DEMOCRACY MEDIA GROUP
Hopefully someone will make Hillary aware of all the things,such as above, she’s promising to accomplish.Her
original failure on healthcare reform was due to lack of planning of how to get things done,and she kept beating a dead horse well after everyone else knew the horse was dead.Writing the dissertation is always the easy step.
I have no problem with what Clinton says she says wants to accomplish, but I think Obama will better accomplish much of the same with better managerial skills and by forming coaltions.That’s
the only way representative democracy will function .The present regime has taught us that lesson.
Hillary Clinton would re-instate the political wars of the 90s. That’s where America wants change.
Just for the record, Jadoon’s same block of text was pasted into the comment section of another post, so I went ahead and deleted that.
Wow Doug. First you had the sockpuppets, now you have astroturfing. Both from the Clinton camp.
Your blog has certianly arrived, as T said.
One thing that has become clear is that any pro-Hillary post or comment is just as apt to be from the Republicans as from Clinton supporters.
My theory,for what it’s worth, is that Plan A is to help Hillary be the Democratic nominee so as to easily mobilize the Republican base to defeat her at the polls. Plan B,if she is elected, is to exploit Hillary’s penchant for political trench warfare and engage her in constant political stand-offs during 4 years, thereby making sure nothing is accomplished, except to blame her for not succeeding,and she will in turn blame the Republicans.
That strategy might be successful because she has other Dem. leaders like herself , Pelosi and Reid, who also love to get into partisan political battles. Can’t we see the secret Memos going back and forth among the Republican cadre?
But it’s curious that all the Republican think tank still seem to be firmly in H Clinton’s corner and that should be unsettling for anyone who wants something different in D.C.
4 years of Hillary and nothing happening except politics would bring back the Republicans in 2012.
Obama is probably very scary to Republicans because of his positive,calm, good-willed disposition.That’s hard to fight,and how can they fight a black man without being ‘racial’?
Simple, just run against his scary ex-preacher.