October 4, 2006

Dems Fall for Bush Rope-A-Dope Once Again

I think the Democrats have been had again.

Charlie Brown. Football. Lucy. She won’t pull it away this time, will she? Aaaaarrrrgh!

George W. Bush is supposed to be very stupid, very incompetent and very stubborn – all of which, if true, would make it inexcusable to keep losing to the guy. And yet a curious pattern has endured throughout his presidency. In 2002 – an off-year-election in which the out-of-power party is supposed to pick up seats – Bush’s party picked up seats instead. Even with the economy in the doldrums and war in the offing, the Democrats lost ground.

In 2004, a year that began with Bush’s approval ratings in the tank and job-growth figures for his first term below zero, the Democrats could neither knock him off nor pick up seats in Congress.

Now we find ourselves in 2006. In the mid-term election of a president’s second term, the opposition party always wins in a romp. Throw in the fact that Bush’s approval rating at one point this year, in one poll, fell as low as 29 percent. Throw in the fact that the news out of Iraq is bad every night. (Whether the facts are as bad as the news is another matter.) Throw in the nation’s Katrina hangover, Osama still on the loose . . . it brings to mind Jon Lovitz, playing Michael Dukakis on “Saturday Night Live” in a mock debate with the elder Bush, saying in exasperation: “I can’t believe I’m losing to this guy!”

Until a few weeks ago, every pollster and pundit was confidently predicting big Democratic gains in the House and Senate this year, if not a return to control. But then things started getting interesting.

Two weeks ago, the infamous generic ballot (“Will you vote Democratic or Republican for Congress this year?”) started coming out a toss-up after showing the Dems in front by 10-to-12 points for most of the year. That’s crucial because people are more willing to vote for unnamed Democrats than named Democrats, for what I guess are fairly obvious reasons. The Dems need to lead the generic poll by six-to-eight points to have any hope of gaining much ground in congressional elections.

Then, within the past week, Bush’s approval rating started ticking back up – reaching 45 percent on September 24 for the first time since February. That’s not exactly the stratosphere, but it’s enough of an improvement to seriously hamper the Democrats’ ability to make him a millstone around Republican congressional candidates’ necks.

Psyche! The theory here is that the Democrats have once again allowed themselves to become the victims of a political rope-a-dope. This has been a specialty of the stupid, incompetent president to whom they keep losing. While Bush is under attack from Democrats and the media, his numbers are dropping and Republicans are screaming for him to respond, he sits back and says nothing.

Democrats’ confidence grows. We’re losing the war! Bring the troops home! Bush’s numbers go down again. Hey! This is fun! What else can we say?

Fire Rumsfeld! He’s incompetent and the generals hate him!

Bush’s numbers fall some more. Bush says little in response. Democrats continue feeling their oats. More! This is working! Let’s say something else!

Stop being so harsh with terror suspects!

Oops.

Bush wants to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the “mastermind” of 9/11, before a military tribunal. He wants to try him, convict him and presumably execute him. He asked Congress for a bill authorizing this. Democrats, believing it can never be a bad idea to oppose Bush on anything, voted overwhelmingly against this bill.

And then Bush counterattacked. In a series of speeches and public appearances, he reminded the nation of the stakes in the War on Terror, and drew the lines clearly. Oppose military tribunals, you are showing that you care more about the rights of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed than you care about the security of the American people.

The Democrats fell for it again. With every outrageous position they took, it appeared they suffered no consequences, so they took even more outrageous positions. Before you know it, they’re crying over the rights of a 9/11 terrorist. And when Bush finally fires back, they’ve gone so far off the rail, he’s got them dead to rights.

It’s amazing how this stupid, incompetent idiot always seems to know exactly what his opponents are going to do – and always shows the patience to sit back and let them do it. Meanwhile, in other news, Lucy has pulled the football away yet again.

This is Column # DC53.  Request permission to publish here.