A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows support for President Bush continues to drop. You can view the actual results here.

In a nutshell, 57% of independents disapprove of the way Bush is handling the war in Iraq. Back in April, he had a 73% approval rating from independents. Now that approval is at 39%. In addition,

Independents are less inclined to vote for Bush next year than to vote for a Democrat; 35% of registered independent voters choose Bush and 42% choose an unnamed Democrat. Among all registered voters, Bush leads the unnamed Democrat 46%-43%, which is within the 4-point error margin.

Support for the war also is declining:

Fifty-seven percent say the United States should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq. That is up considerably from two months ago, when 46% wanted to withdraw some or all of the troops. Seventy percent of Democrats, 58% of independents and 43% of Republicans want a partial or full withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Democratic support for the war has fallen more sharply than independent support — from 54% in April to 24% now.

Bush is a Miserable Failure. So says Old Fashioned Patriot which encourages you to participate in a little web project. Since we agree with the premise, we're doing our part. So is The Horse, which is where we found it. If you've got a blog, check it out and join the effort.

[Thanks to all who replied, comments are now closed.]

Bush is a Miserable Failure. So says Old Fashioned Patriot which encourages you to participate in a little web project. Since we agree with the premise, we're doing our part. So is The Horse, which is where we found it. If you've got a blog, check it out and join the effort.

[Thanks to all who replied, comments are now closed.]

The Claremont Eagle Times of New Hampshire has published an editorial saying that John Edwards should be smiling about the newest poll results in New Hampshire. He is in third position, behind Dean and Kerry. Why is that good news? Because, the editorial predicts, the race will ultimately be a two man race between Dean and Edwards. Here's the analysis:

The Claremont Eagle Times of New Hampshire has published an editorial saying that John Edwards should be smiling about the newest poll results in New Hampshire. He is in third position, behind Dean and Kerry. Why is that good news? Because, the editorial predicts, the race will ultimately be a two man race between Dean and Edwards. Here's the analysis:

The Democratic candidates for the presidential nomination debated again Sunday night. From the news reports, it sounds like Iraq was the predominant issue:

Wesley Clark, responding to criticism by Joe Liberman:

"Well, I wasn't in Congress; I wasn't able to vote on the $87 billion," General Clark said. "But I want to make it very clear: I would not have voted the $87 billion," he said. "I want to commend John Edwards and John Kerry and those who voted on the resolution. I didn't believe last year we should have given George Bush a blank check in Iraq. Now we're trying to give him another blank check."

...."Well, Joe, I had seared in me an experience which you don't have, and that's the experience of being one of those troops on the front lines when the policy has gone wrong," he said. "And the way you best protect the troops is to guarantee that you put the troops in the safest, strongest position as fast as possible. Our troops are today more exposed, are in greater danger, because this president didn't put together a real coalition, because this president's been unwilling to share the burden and the task."

...."Right after 9/11, this administration determined to do bait and switch on the American public," he said. "President Bush said he was going to get Osama bin Laden, dead or alive. Instead, he went after Saddam Hussein. He doesn't have either one of them today."

John Edwards, who voted for the Iraq War but against the $87 billion Bush funding request:

"My view of leadership is standing up for what you believe in, Joe," he said. "For me to vote yes on that would be to give President Bush a blank check, and I am not willing to give George Bush a blank check."

Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman and Gephardt voted for the war. Of the four, only Lieberman and Gephardt also voted for the $87 billion.

The Democratic candidates for the presidential nomination debated again Sunday night. From the news reports, it sounds like Iraq was the predominant issue:

Wesley Clark, responding to criticism by Joe Liberman:

"Well, I wasn't in Congress; I wasn't able to vote on the $87 billion," General Clark said. "But I want to make it very clear: I would not have voted the $87 billion," he said. "I want to commend John Edwards and John Kerry and those who voted on the resolution. I didn't believe last year we should have given George Bush a blank check in Iraq. Now we're trying to give him another blank check."

...."Well, Joe, I had seared in me an experience which you don't have, and that's the experience of being one of those troops on the front lines when the policy has gone wrong," he said. "And the way you best protect the troops is to guarantee that you put the troops in the safest, strongest position as fast as possible. Our troops are today more exposed, are in greater danger, because this president didn't put together a real coalition, because this president's been unwilling to share the burden and the task."

...."Right after 9/11, this administration determined to do bait and switch on the American public," he said. "President Bush said he was going to get Osama bin Laden, dead or alive. Instead, he went after Saddam Hussein. He doesn't have either one of them today."

John Edwards, who voted for the Iraq War but against the $87 billion Bush funding request:

"My view of leadership is standing up for what you believe in, Joe," he said. "For me to vote yes on that would be to give President Bush a blank check, and I am not willing to give George Bush a blank check."

Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman and Gephardt voted for the war. Of the four, only Lieberman and Gephardt also voted for the $87 billion.

From Tristero:

This just isn't fair. They want to Rock Against Bush that's fine, but where does that leave me? Bloody jealous is where it leaves me.

I hereby announce the formation of a classical music group to raise funds to institute regime change in the US. It is called Bach Against Bush and I want to hear from any and all musicians who want to participate. And no, you don't have to play only Bach, but you're not discouraged either, naturally. Composers, too, are always welcome to join in the festivities. I'll certainlywrite something for it.

Let's kick Bush where it hurts, right on his G-string.

Tristero's real name is not on his weblog, so we won't disclose it. But, we'd like to say that we met him two weeks ago in Denver when one of his acclaimed works was being performed by the Denver Symphony Orchestra. He graciously invited us to attend and arranged to have tickets waiting for us and some friends. It was a unique and outstanding performance. When it was over, he and the DSO conductor came out and held a question and answer session with the audience.

Tristero has no need to be jealous. His music may be classical, but he rocks. [thanks to Atrios for the link]

From Tristero:

This just isn't fair. They want to Rock Against Bush that's fine, but where does that leave me? Bloody jealous is where it leaves me.

I hereby announce the formation of a classical music group to raise funds to institute regime change in the US. It is called Bach Against Bush and I want to hear from any and all musicians who want to participate. And no, you don't have to play only Bach, but you're not discouraged either, naturally. Composers, too, are always welcome to join in the festivities. I'll certainlywrite something for it.

Let's kick Bush where it hurts, right on his G-string.

Tristero's real name is not on his weblog, so we won't disclose it. But, we'd like to say that we met him two weeks ago in Denver when one of his acclaimed works was being performed by the Denver Symphony Orchestra. He graciously invited us to attend and arranged to have tickets waiting for us and some friends. It was a unique and outstanding performance. When it was over, he and the DSO conductor came out and held a question and answer session with the audience.

Tristero has no need to be jealous. His music may be classical, but he rocks. [thanks to Atrios for the link]

The AP reports that service in Vietnam has become an issue among candidates for President. Here's the wrap-up of who served and who did not.

Clark and Kerry served, which everyone knows by now because they mention it in every speech. Each received a Purple Heart after being wounded in action as well as the Silver Star for "gallantry in action."

Only John Edwards and Howard Dean got draft lottery numbers. The war ended before Edwards number was called (#178.) Dean was excused for a physical condition. The AP isn't too charitable towards Dean on the subjectr:

In an interview with the AP, Dean said he had known since he was in high school that he had an unfused vertebra, a condition called spondylolysis. Dean tried to spell the condition during the interview, but got it wrong after three tries, even though he is a medical doctor and worked as an internist before entering politics. He laughed over his difficulty and defended himself by saying he is not a bone specialist.

The AP reports that service in Vietnam has become an issue among candidates for President. Here's the wrap-up of who served and who did not.

Clark and Kerry served, which everyone knows by now because they mention it in every speech. Each received a Purple Heart after being wounded in action as well as the Silver Star for "gallantry in action."

Only John Edwards and Howard Dean got draft lottery numbers. The war ended before Edwards number was called (#178.) Dean was excused for a physical condition. The AP isn't too charitable towards Dean on the subjectr:

In an interview with the AP, Dean said he had known since he was in high school that he had an unfused vertebra, a condition called spondylolysis. Dean tried to spell the condition during the interview, but got it wrong after three tries, even though he is a medical doctor and worked as an internist before entering politics. He laughed over his difficulty and defended himself by saying he is not a bone specialist.

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...set up in 1996 by two former Federal Election Commission employees who formed a Washington research firm called Public Disclosure Inc.

Their site takes often-fragmented commission data and organizes the information into an accessible, logical and simple-to-use format. Whether it's following individual donations, looking at the Clinton legal defense fund, tracking the 2000 Federal candidates or exploring soft money donations, the site is a one-stop shopping center for campaign finance data.

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