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London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush

A new CBS poll shows President Bush's approval ratings haven't changed since the London terror threats became public:

The arrests in Britain have not helped President Bush's popularity so far, the CBS poll finds. His job approval remains exactly at 36 percent, where it was a month ago. Even the president's rating for handling terrorism - his strongest suit - remains unchanged at 51 percent.

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    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 09:50:04 AM EST
    keep a good eye on this story, but also understand that something is not right about what is happening. ask is bush "setting", up some evil deals? as he did before?

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#2)
    by RF on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 09:53:12 AM EST
    Proof positive the electorate has effectively turned off and/or tuned out all cable, and disney type news, such that the only fools watching the terror bait, are the rapture right; aka the converted- To win in 2006, arBusto will have to "create" "real" terror and undoubtably will be caught... too many folks now HATE these people who stole power, and are just waiting to "pounce" on stupid, desperate moves - Incompetent on 9/11, not competent on post-911 anthrax, incompetent on Irak, not competent on Cat5 Homeland Security, and an Energy Policy laced with narcissism, and head in the sand ignornance- Other than that, why would anyone with half a brain be afraid the electorate will be reluctant to pull the lever for God's Own Party?

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 10:05:32 AM EST
    The stakes are high but it seems that the neo-cons are losing on all fronts. Another terrorist attack isn't going to get them anywhere. They were hoping that the conflict in Lebanon would go ballistic. Now that has settled down. And it looks like the peace will hold. Why the Peace Will Hold

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 10:14:31 AM EST
    If there is a terrorist attack in the states it would show just how bad security really is.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#5)
    by dutchfox on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 10:26:09 AM EST
    Brilliant Op-ed piece today by Paul Krugman.
    We now know that from the very beginning, the Bush administration and its allies in Congress saw the terrorist threat not as a problem to be solved, but as a political opportunity to be exploited. The story of the latest terror plot makes the administration's fecklessness and cynicism on terrorism clearer than ever.


    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#6)
    by dutchfox on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 10:26:42 AM EST
    Brilliant Op-ed piece today by Paul Krugman.
    We now know that from the very beginning, the Bush administration and its allies in Congress saw the terrorist threat not as a problem to be solved, but as a political opportunity to be exploited. The story of the latest terror plot makes the administration's fecklessness and cynicism on terrorism clearer than ever.


    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#7)
    by dutchfox on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 10:34:00 AM EST
    Apologies about the double post.

    Gee, if Bush had only been smart enough to have Blair anounce the fake plot a couple weeks earlier maybe Lieberman would've won.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#10)
    by Steven Sanderson on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 11:52:11 AM EST
    The latest air terror threat actually may have helped Bush in the polls. Getting the Brits to move up the arrests diverted attention away from Iraq at the time the death toll of U.S. troops there hit the 2,600 benchmark (today it stands at 2,601 dead G.I.'s). Distracting the public probably kept Shrub from dropping even lower in the polls.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#11)
    by Edger on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 12:54:56 PM EST
    I've never seen a bush bounce. Don't they just sort of go SPLAT when they hit the ground?

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#12)
    by Punchy on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 01:00:32 PM EST
    As others have said... So...breaking up a terrorist plot in Britain is supposed to help Bush...how? So if breaking up the plot helps him, would the event taking place hurt him? Or help him? I just don't understand how a plot uncovered, investigated, and broken up in Europe has any positive reflections on the actions of OUR president...so why this "no bounce" surprise? If anything, it shows how worthless Bush has been at disabling the AQ network...

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#13)
    by oldtree on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 01:13:37 PM EST
    some of us still think it sad that it is our government promoting terror to such a high degree. some of us still can't believe it, and that is the main problem. Some of us know our government is in the business of terror now, others still can't believe. We have more and more people so screwed up that believing means only what they are told by faith, and not by facts. watched the "news" today o boy. there wasn't a story on morning news that didn't involved fear and flashy graphics. it is an enemy of the state.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#14)
    by roy on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 01:13:44 PM EST
    Punchy, Don't underestimate the ability to look for new reasons to criticize one's enemies. The US had some involvement with the investigation, therefore any decision can be interpreted as reflecting Bush's intentions. If they'd busted the ring sooner, it would have been an effort to boost Lieberman's chances in his primary. If they'd waited until the plan progressed further, it would have been an effort to have a more spectactular story to shore up the idea that there's still a Global War on Terror being waged. If they had failed to stop the plan, it would have been an orchestrated event to scare voters into supporting more draconian laws. By busting them when they did, it's a distraction from the body count in Iraq hitting 2600, or from Israel's actions in Lebanon, or Cindy Sheehan's fast, or ... (Personally, I'm not taking a stand on it either way, but it's a fun game to play)

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 01:20:27 PM EST
    Roy.... Good post.. You pretty much summed up the left's stance! Not happy no matter what happens!!!!

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#16)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 02:07:10 PM EST
    Not true BB...we on The Left (defined in this case as anyone that opposes the neocon plot to take over the world) are absolutely ecstatic that Lieberman lost the primary and that Bush was unable to successfully exploit people's fears again.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 02:35:19 PM EST
    Ernesto.... we on The Left (defined in this case as anyone that opposes the neocon plot to take over the world As I said in another post.... There is a plot to take over the world alright, and the sooner the rest of you get on board and realize who the real enemy is, the better off we'll all be. are absolutely ecstatic that Lieberman lost the primary .. I wouldn't jump too high yet Ernesto.. that is going to come back & haunt the Dems (of which I am still a registered member!) come November. The rest of us (not on the left fringe) see the party leaning waaay too far left and it isn't good. Besides, Lieberman will probably win anyway as an Independent.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#18)
    by cowboyx on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 03:04:23 PM EST
    BB, what is so Left about Lamont?

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#19)
    by Edger on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 03:05:55 PM EST
    :-) I cannot resist posting this one:
    George W. Bush is a good man, word has it. He's plain-spoken, they say. A regular fella. A good guy to have a beer with, except he supposedly doesn't drink anymore. ... I don't believe Bush has gotten off the sauce, if truth be told. I know more than a few boozers who, like George, periodically show up with odd wounds on their faces they got from falling over or running into walls. The injuries that appear on George's mien from time to time can perhaps be explained away - maybe Dick Cheney is stalking the halls with a shotgun loaded with rock salt and blasting anyone, even the boss, who gets in his way - but if "George still drinks" were up on the big board at the MGM Grand sports book, I'd take the bet no matter what the oddsmakers had to say. Having a drunk for a president is manageable. Having a stone bozo for a president, on the other hand, is a calamity of global proportions.
    I cannot believe how incredibly stupid you are. I mean rock-hard stupid. Dehydrated-rock-hard stupid. Stupid so stupid that it goes way beyond the stupid we know into a whole different dimension of stupid. You are trans-stupid stupid. Meta-stupid. Stupid collapsed on itself so far that even the neutrons have collapsed. Stupid gotten so dense that no intellect can escape. Singularity stupid. Blazing hot mid-day sun on Mercury stupid. You emit more stupid in one second than our entire galaxy emits in a year. Quasar stupid. - "The Ultimate Flame," author unknown Splat. Not bounce. Have a nice day, george...

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 03:30:21 PM EST
    I'm glad Bush did not get a bounce for this classic jumping the gun, bull in a china shop tactic. Gee it must be getting close to election time. "The war on toiletries" has begun! This is the topic of my latest cartoon at... www.whatnowtoons.com

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#21)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 03:51:04 PM EST
    BB...the neocons are the mirror image of the islamofascists. If you can't see that perhaps you need to look in the mirror yourself. Have you ever been to Greenwich, CT? Lamont is a rich businessman from there so you can feel perfectly safe with him. It's not much of a hotbed of far left hysteria. And when it comes to Iraq, it should be increasingly apparent to you that Lamont is mainstream and the only lunatic fringe is the one you belong to. As for J-Lie, I think he's headed for one more embarrassing defeat on the way to neocon oblivion. I don't see him getting many Republican votes. Most Republicans will either stay home or vote for the palooka Schlesinger. And he'll have a tough sell with Independents in Connecticut since they don't support the Iraq debacle, either. The only thing that will make it close is that a lot of Democrats will still vote for him, not because of Iraq, but in spite of it.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#22)
    by Sailor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 03:52:32 PM EST
    You can only fool some of the people all of the time.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#23)
    by Edger on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 04:30:47 PM EST
    Bush's belief in a worldwide Islamist conspiracy is foolish and dangerous Max Hastings, Monday August 14, 2006 - The Guardian
    George Bush sometimes sounds more like the Mahdi, preaching jihad against infidels, than the leader of a western democracy. In his regular radio address to the American people on Saturday he linked the British alleged aircraft plotters with Hizbullah in Lebanon, and these in turn with the insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    ...
    In the United States a disturbingly large minority of people - polls suggest around 40% - remain willing to accept Bush's assertions that Americans and their allies, which chiefly means the British, are faced with a single global conspiracy by Islamic fundamentalists to destroy our societies. In less credulous Britain one could nowadays fit into an old-fashioned telephone box those who believe anything Bush or Tony Blair says about foreign policy.** Many of us are consumed with frustration. We know that we face a real threat from Muslim fundamentalists, and that we are unlikely to begin to defeat this until we see it for what it is: something infinitely more complex, diffuse and nuanced than the US president wishes to suppose. ... Today, of course, everything has changed. In the eyes of many Muslims, the actions of Bush and Blair have promoted and legitimised al-Qaida in a fashion even its founder could hardly have anticipated a decade ago.**
    ** emphasis mine

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#24)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 04:43:49 PM EST
    Well with the reports that Britain was rushed into this by the United States, that Britain wanted to wait another week to gather more evidence, that plane tickets hadn't been bought, that a lot of the suspects didn't even have passports... put together with all the lame and/or ugly PR stunts and scare tactics this administration has been using for so long... I'm surprised anybody even bothers to report on it anymore.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#25)
    by Edger on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 04:50:04 PM EST
    I'm surprised anybody even bothers to report on it anymore. CNN needs something to talk about. They've talked (propagandized) about this incessantly 24/7 since it was first reported.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#26)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 04:56:02 PM EST
    You pretty much summed up the left's stance! Not happy no matter what happens!!!!
    BB, What stance are you referring to extreme or moderate left. Isn't the prevailing additude at TL Moderate Left. Yet you talk in terms of extreme left/Lieberman who is fodder for the republican extreme right/Bushco. What Gives.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#27)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 05:20:46 PM EST
    Very interesting: no bounce. Perhaps we should be anticipating a new Rovian bag of tricks here. After all, if you can't get a bounce out of "legitimate" terrorist info, then it's probably time to manufacture another invasion somewhere. Frankly, I'm surprised there hasn't been a "discovery" of fissile material being transported into Iraq with a purported Iranian signature. THAT would make things interesting! Hmmmmm.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#28)
    by Bill Arnett on Tue Aug 15, 2006 at 01:26:57 PM EST
    The only "bounce" that Bush is likely to get would only come about if he managed to fall out of Air Force One--at high altitude.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#29)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Aug 15, 2006 at 03:45:02 PM EST
    Bush is obviously going to rectify the "lack of bounce" problem by claiming that "we" stopped a terrorists attack on America.

    Re: London Terror Threats: No Bounce for Bush (none / 0) (#30)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 21, 2006 at 09:07:29 AM EST
    There is a plot to take over the world alright, and the sooner the rest of you get on board and realize who the real enemy is, the better off we'll all be. That's certainly the way the neocons would like us to think. Islamic terrorists certainly would like to destroy us, but desire and ability are two different things. Osama bin Laden does not have the power to destroy America. The neocon regime in Washington, however, does have that power. And they're in the process of destroying the ideals this nation was built on as we speak.