If he's so hated then why is he in office for a 2nd term? Do you sorta see my point here? I certainly see yours.... It's my understanding that the Democrats are divided among the rest of the majority.

 

I see your point... yes, the Democrats are divided by the rest of the (voting) majority.

But the anti-Bush sentiment has grown considerably... whereas once Bush was looked upon as bumbling fool, now he is viewed as bumbling fool who is hell-bent on carrying out whack quasi-religious ideologies.

In the end, the country is more divided now that it was 4 years ago (and certainly waaaay more divided than after the pow-wow held after 9-11)

 

read my post following his- I just added a bunch,

and more...

There ya go, Dub- I predicted he'd take advatage of your 'hate' statement and use it to prove his point.

 

I can already see it happening. You are alienating 48% of America when you say things like that.

You have to understand how close this election was. Bush did get the majority of the vote on November 2. But that doesn't mean that Democrats are in the minority. Try not to draw party lines here and just recognize that almost as many people that voted for Bush voted for Kerry.

Only 1% of the total US population think that Bush would do a better job than Kerry, which is not even the point.

Put aside the party names and see that almost half of the population vehemently hate this president. Something has to be done by this administration to get these 48% of Americans back on board. When they aren't on board you have a divided America. Wasn't this the point of your original post?

 

It's kinda unrelated to my original, but I do see what you're trying to get at.

My parents are also republican, but having two kids and seeing what they face as they grow up, I believe, has made them more liberal. My dad, who has one of the most conservative personalities I know of, voted against Bush. Not only beacause he can't stand having someone who comes off as so ignorant (see 'Internets,' ' Nu-Q-ler'), but also on 'more improtant' issues like education, heathcare, and the environment.

 

True dat Scoob. The word hate is used too often... I have been on edge since the end of the election. I just cant believe that more than half of our country supports George W.

 

Watch the hate-talk... As I explained in one of my previous posts, this only plays into Salty's argument that America is not divided. It's less divided by hate for the president, and more divided by a fundamental difference in values and policy.

 

You call it how you see it, I guess. I really don't understand though how it plays to his argument. I think it proves that it is divided.

 

Now don't conclude that more that half our country are idiots, rather, take a step back and look at the bigger picture of why they may have voted that way. This also doesn't mean that more than half our country supports the president, it could also be a reflection that people didn't support or trust Kerry enough and didn't feel safe voting him in. Bush did get lots of the independent vote, and I have heard people on tv argue that this is one of the reasons he won.

We must also not make the same mistake as Salty by discounting the other side. When you have won, ther is not as much of a 'need to reach out to the other side' But after a loss like this, it's apparent that the left can no longer alienate those who think differently. We must understand that the difference in opinion is a result of where and how you live- avoid saying they're a buch of ignorant hicks who aren't in touch with the world... and we'll have a better chance of making those people 'come to their senses' and vote democrat next time around.

 

It plays into his argument in that if everyone who voted for Kerry actually hated Bush, then their opinion doesn't mean much and can be discounted. To a certain extent, I agree that the motivation behind the opinions of extreme liberals who say they hate our president is somewhat questionable, and their views should not be taken too seriously or have much value placed on them- ESPECIALLY from the opposite side of the spectrum.

Put yourself in their shoes, would you listen to a neo-**** conservative? Could they sway your opinion and make you realize something you hadn't before? Taking the extreme stance, on either side, does nothing pull the two sides further apart... It does noting to bridge the gap. So, the question is: Is saying you hate Bush extereme? I think so... regardless of how popular that saying has become.

Don't fight fire with fire.

 

I see your point. I don't necessarily think its extreme though. Excluding the word "hate" from my post, you must agree with what I said.

 

Perfect... just always remember that the h-word does nothing to promote our point ot view.

 

The worst part about this whole election for anyone that wanted Bush out of office is that for all the work they did to "get out the vote" they got the wrong people. They same percentage of young, democratic voted. Instead of polarizing their supporters they polarized the opposition.

Great strategy!

 

Yeah-- very true... I'll admit as a young person, I did have hope for this and I seriously thought that there was going to be a huge turnout amoung other young voters. But after it was all said and done, it had backfired. I hadn't heard of anyone predicting this beforehand, even on FOX news.