Historian-Americans smarter than regular Americans

This just out: Professional historians weigh in again on the Bush Administration and 98.2% say it's a failure (up from 81% four years ago). Sixty-one percent further judge Bush as the worst American president of all time (up sharply from 11.6% four years ago). By contrast, 28% of the American public still think Bush is A-okay.

The poll, conducted by History News Network, includes responses from 109 historians. It is admittedly nonscientific and almost certainly premature in that history has a way of taking its time to mature. I don’t care. The quotes are hypnotizing:

“Glib, contemptuous, ignorant, incurious, a dupe of anyone who humors his deluded belief in his heroic self, he has bankrupted the country with his disastrous war and his tax breaks for the rich, trampled on the Bill of Rights, appointed foxes in every henhouse, compounded the terrorist threat, turned a blind eye to torture and corruption and a looming ecological disaster, and squandered the rest of the world’s goodwill. In short, no other president’s faults have had so deleterious an effect on not only the country but the world at large.”

“When future historians look back to identify the moment at which the United States began to lose its position of world leadership, they will point—rightly—to the Bush presidency. Thanks to his policies, it is now easy to see America losing out to its competitors in any number of areas: China is rapidly becoming the manufacturing powerhouse of the next century, India the high tech and services leader, and Europe the region with the best quality of life.”

“[T]he paranoia of Nixon, the ethics of Harding and the good sense of Herbert Hoover. . . . . God willing, this will go down as the nadir of American politics.”

“He is not a conservative, nor a Christian, just an immoral man . . . .”

“[Bush’s] denial of any personal responsibility can only be described as silly.”

“His domestic policies have had the cumulative effect of shoring up a semi-permanent aristocracy of capital that dwarfs the aristocracy of land against which the founding fathers rebelled; of encouraging a mindless retreat from science and rationalism; and of crippling the nation’s economic base.”

“George Bush has combined mediocrity with malevolent policies and has thus seriously damaged the welfare and standing of the United States.”

And my personal favorite:

“Bush does only two things well. He knows how to make the very rich very much richer, and he has an amazing talent for f**king up everything else he even approaches. His administration has been the most reckless, dangerous, irresponsible, mendacious, arrogant, self-righteous, incompetent, and deeply corrupt one in all of American history.”

"I blame the media for this"

Digby on the scope of this administration's failures:

I blame the media for this. After 9/11 they lost their minds and became unthinking hagiographers and adminstration cheerleaders to an absurd extent. The man's halting, incoherent first press conference after 9/11 scared me more than the attacks and yet the press corps behaved as if they were in the presence of a God whose stuttering, meandering gibberish were words uttered from on high. He was called a genius and compared to Winston Churchill. Paeans to his greatness were turned into best sellers. His "gut" was infallible. It was patently obvious that he was in over his head and yet this bizarre, almost hallucinogenic image of the man emerged in the media that actually made me question my sanity at times. It took years for this trance to wear off with a majority of the public and even longer in the media. It was one of the strangest phenomenons I've ever observed.

Until recently, however, I was never quite sure if Bush himself believed it. It appears that he did. Big time. And that belief in his own hype created a completely dysfunctional organization. I suspect that what started out as a shield by Cheney and Rove to narrow the influences upon him may have morphed into a bubble designed to keep him from completely spinning out of control. But it couldn't keep him from making decisions, and make them he did, without thought or analysis or knowledge. His belief in his "gut" and God's anointment has been leading this nation since 9/11. Combined with Cheney's megalomaniacal belief in untrammelled executive power it has been a disaster. (In fact, Cheney could not have chosen a better subject to more thoroughly discredit his theory than Junior.)

I understand that it is difficult to know in advance what constitutes a real leader. A resume isn't enough to make one (although it's certainly better than not having one at all) and depending on personality or symbols isn't enough either. I don't know what the magic formula is. I do know that when someone speaks like a fool and acts like a spoiled child and appears to be "intellectually uncurious" and has never done anything in life that would give you a clue that he knows how to govern or lead -- well, it's not a good idea to make that person the most powerful person on the planet. If we've learned nothing else, I hope we have learned that.

The president matters. But whether or not we want to have a beer with him or whether or not we approve of his private life is not what matters about him or her. These are false hueristics and they don't add up to leadership any more than years of political experience translates into great political skills. Citizens need to think a little bit harder about this choice, look a little deeper, ask some serious questions. Part of the job is certainly PR and a president does have to be the star of the national TV show for four years. But it's a lot more than that and Americans need to rediscover a healthy sense of the requirements of this particular job.

Most importantly, the people who work in politics and the media need to take this more seriously. Presidential politics isn't American Idol, it's a contest for the leadership of the United States of America and putting together an "electable" package cannot be the only focus. And it goes without saying that this kewl kidz and mean girls nonsense from the press has to stop. The past six years have been a tragedy and we desperately need some thoughtful, intelligent, competent leadership to set this right.

Amen. And it was millions of like-minded citizens questioning their own sanity that led to the fellowship of the netroots and the rise of a new democracy.

Mike and I are headed off to St. Louis in January for the FreePress conference on media reform. We need to fix this piece of our republic, too.

I do what Andrew Jackson tells me...

A click a day makes the 'thugs go away

Help get the truth out. Large numbers of people get their information about candidates by checking them out on the internet in the weeks before the election. Here's a collection of Republican candidates in competitive races linked to damning articles written by independent, nonpartisan sources. Just click on a name, any name, to help build the links that will lead search engines to these articles. Some people call it "google bombing" - I call it a perfectly legitimate oppo dump.

Pass the word.

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl
--AZ-01: Rick Renzi
--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
--CA-04: John Doolittle
--CA-11: Richard Pombo
--CA-50: Brian Bilbray
--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave
--CO-05: Doug Lamborn
--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell
--CT-04: Christopher Shays
--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
--FL-16: Joe Negron
--FL-22: Clay Shaw
--ID-01: Bill Sali
--IL-06: Peter Roskam
--IL-10: Mark Kirk
--IL-14: Dennis Hastert
--IN-02: Chris Chocola
--IN-08: John Hostettler
--IA-01: Mike Whalen
--KS-02: Jim Ryun
--KY-03: Anne Northup
--KY-04: Geoff Davis
--MD-Sen: Michael Steele
--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
--MN-06: Michele Bachmann
--MO-Sen: Jim Talent
--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
--NV-03: Jon Porter
--NH-02: Charlie Bass
--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson
--NM-01: Heather Wilson
--NY-03: Peter King
--NY-20: John Sweeney
--NY-26: Tom Reynolds
--NY-29: Randy Kuhl
--NC-08: Robin Hayes
--NC-11: Charles Taylor
--OH-01: Steve Chabot
--OH-02: Jean Schmidt
--OH-15: Deborah Pryce
--OH-18: Joy Padgett
--PA-04: Melissa Hart
--PA-07: Curt Weldon
--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
--PA-10: Don Sherwood
--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
--TN-Sen: Bob Corker
--VA-Sen: George Allen
--VA-10: Frank Wolf
--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
--WA-08: Dave Reichert

Home sweet home

Natural Resources Council of Maine released a global warming report this week, and here's Damariscotta at 1m and 6m rise in sea level.

I'm just sayin'.

Public service announcement

From Tom Toles:

50 easy questions to ask any Republican

These are making the rounds and I think they're very reasonable.

1. What are the Top Seven best things that the Bush Administration has done?
2. Is the Iraq War is going well?
3. After three years thus far, when do you think Iraq might be able to "stand up" so that America can "stand down"?
4. For his part in the event, how would you rate the job the President did protecting New Orleans from devastation?
5. How do you think the rebuilding of New Orleans is going?
6. When Dick Cheney and the oil company and energy executives met in private to plan America's energy policy, how much of their goal was to benefit consumers?
7. Do you believe in the President's call for an Era of Personal Responsibility?
8. Since Republicans control the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, how personally responsible are they for conditions in America today?
9. Why do you think they haven't been able to find anyone who can verify that George Bush ever showed up for National Guard duty in Alabama?
10. Would you want Donald Rumsfeld to plan your daughter's wedding?
11. Are you aware that no government in the history of civilization, other than the Bush Administration, has lowered taxes during a war?
12. Are you married?
13. Do you personally feel threatened by gay marriage?
14. Since getting elected, do you think the President has been more a uniter or a divider?
15. How do you explain the President's approval rating going from a high of 90% to the current mid-30%?
16. Do you like the government collecting personal data on you without a warrant?
17. How much money do you have in your bank account, stocks and investments?
18. What's your partner's favorite sex position?
19. If you have nothing to hide, why aren't you answering?
20. Should we build a wall along the Mexican border?
21. Why isn't anyone building a wall along the Canadian border?
22. Does that terrorist gang arrested in Canada count as a threat?
23. If you shot someone in the face while drinking, how fast would the police show up to arrest you?
24. If Donald Rumsfeld had planned your daughter's wedding three years ago, would the guests still be there?
25. Even if no laws are broken, do you think it's okay to reveal the name of a covert agent?
26. During your lifetime, approximately how often have you changed your mind?
27. Why shouldn't people dismiss you as a flip-flopper?
28. Where do you think the Weapons of Mass Destruction might be?
29. Where do you think Osama bin Laden might be?
30. Is it fiscally responsible to cut taxes, increase spending and create a $9 trillion federal debt?
31. Are you glad liberals passed such programs as Social Security, Medicare, the Civil Rights Act, women's suffrage, federal deposit insurance, unemployment compensation, rural electrification, child labor laws, minimum wages and the 40-hour work week?
32. What are the Top Ten best things that conservatives have given to America?
33. If you were on life support, would you want a doctor you'd never met making a diagnosis about you via remote television?
34. Do you think man-made greenhouse gases have anything at all to do with depleting the ozone layer?
35. If Donald Rumsfeld had planned your daughter's wedding three years ago, and guests were still there, how many factions would they now be split into?
36. How good is it that the terrorist Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was killed?
37. Are you aware that in 2002 the Pentagon knew where al-Zarqawi was and presented three separate plans to kill him, but the Administration refused to act each time?
38. Is George W. Bush the kind of guy you'd want to sit down and have a beer with?
39. When he started talking about being a Born Again Christian, would you want to stay or leave?
40. Is Ray Romano the kind of guy you'd want to sit down and have a beer with?
41. Would you want him to be President?
42. Does the Administration have an environmental policy that benefits the environment?
43. Since George Bush campaigned for President strongly against nation building, in what ways are our actions in Iraq not nation building?
44. What's the maximum amount of time you'd want to spend alone with Dick Cheney?
45. After dismissing Saddam Hussein's old Iraqi army, was it a good idea to let them keep their rifles?
46. Would a policy that allows torture be something that makes you proud as an American?
47. Has the Mission been Accomplished?
48. Do you feel comforted that Dick Cheney is a heartbeat away from being President?
49. If Donald Rumsfeld had planned your daughter's wedding, and guests started fighting and were killed, would you expect to be allowed to view the caskets when they were returned home?
50. How glad do you think George Bush is that he's no longer active in the National Guard?

O God of earth and altar, bow down and hear our cry

O God of earth and altar, bow down and hear our cry,
Our earthly rulers falter, our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us, the swords of scorn divide,
Take not thy thunder from us, but take away our pride.

From all that terror teaches, from lies of tongue and pen,
From all the easy speeches that comfort cruel men,
From sale and profanation of honor, and the sword,
From sleep and from damnation, deliver us, good Lord!

Tie in a living tether the prince and priest and thrall,
Bind all our lives together, smite us and save us all;
In ire and exultation aflame with faith, and free,
Lift up a living nation, a single sword to thee.

--G.K. Chesterton, 1906

Taking a break

Indian yoga:








Irish yoga:










Hey, we all relax any way we can. It's summer in Maine and time for a mental health break (for this blogger, anyway). Check back in September as we head into the election season fully renewed and on the attack. Have a great summer and thanks for stopping by.

BREAKING: Dam geek realizes lifelong ambition; visits Hoover Dam

We interrupt this conference to bring you my five-hour excursion to the Hoover Dam, complete with tour of turbines, penstocks, intake towers, and diversion tunnels! Yes, I am a dam geek. For reasons too complex to go into here, I have dragged husbands all over this great country to see impounded water. Once when we drove from Maine to New Orleans (already kind of a long trip), I veered us 200 miles off course just to see the Army Corps of Engineers' Old River Control Structure at the junction of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers. I especially love it when droughts expose old road beds, turn islands into mountains, and the like. Well, today I was in luck, since Lake Mead is down 70 feet from high water (tant pis for LA, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona). Sadly for you, my camera is checked through security so I can't show you all my turbine pictures.

At the gift store, I bought a history of the dam's construction as reported at the time by Air Compression Magazine. I'm devouring every word. Stay tuned for details!!

Mainstream press reports truth on bloggers for once

Nagourney:

Mr. Reid added: "One of the reasons I so admire them is they have the ability to spread the truth like no entities I've dealt with in recent years. We could never have won the battle to stop privatization of Social Security without them."

[...] As became clear from the rather large and diverse crowd here, the blogosphere has become for the left what talk radio has been for the right: a way of organizing and communicating to supporters. Blogging is nowhere near the force among Republicans as it is among Democrats, and talk radio is a much more effective tool for Republicans.

Time.com (well, it is Wonkette):

The crowd is older and more professional than coverage of the blogosphere might lead one to expect. In the session on recruiting progressive candidates for local office, there's an ER doctor, an AIDS activist, a high-school teacher and a representative from the Organic Consumers Association. There are some that conform to type: thirtyish and pale, sloppily dressed and bleary-eyed. Those are the journalists. There are a lot of them. One organizer put the ratio of conference-goers to reporters at eight to one, which seemed high until I visited one workshop that managed to score drive-bys from the Chicago Tribune, the National Review, the Weekly Standard, Salon, The New Republic and the American Prospect. At one point the room held more representatives from the New York Times (three) than workshop leaders (two).

Emphasis mine. There was something a bit surreal in all these journalists covering our discussions of their own failures. Matt Bai was eloquent and plaintive on the subject during a panel on political journalism, telling us that "sweeping statements about failures of political journalism are inaccurate and unfair and beneath the level of acuity you bring to other issues." He complained that we understate the complexity and humility they bring to their jobs, and said "I'm tired of being judged because of Judy Miller."

We absorbed these comments and agreed that for every failure in the press, someone somewhere got the story right and deserved acclaim. But then a blogger got up and restated the issue: our criticism is not about comparing Matt Bai to Judy Miller. It's about complete lack of accountability when they do fail, and the huge consequences flowing from those failures.

Check in

Okay, put me to shame, Leolabeth (go read the comments below for her liveblogging). I'm having trouble getting posts up because the information is flying so fast - unlike, say, the Maine Democratic Convention - that I can't stop to post. And activities are going on every minute well into the night. Moreover, I plead slooowww network...

So this is just a checkin to let you know this conference is tremendous and we're all getting energized, informed, and activated. It's a blast meeting people who have just been screen names up till now - and a bit unnerving discovering how sharp and articulate some of these folk are. I'll have some of the conference content up later, probably on the way home. And I can't tell you how grateful I am to be here.

P.S. Phil, I got your autographs.

Kos fever

Joining the migration to Las Vegas. Will keep you posted!

Mehnert update & a blizzard of Snowe statistics

Good Mehnert profile in yesterday's Bangor Daily News. Also a poll, should you care to participate. It shows Hay Bright ahead by six points (53/47), which makes sense given her organizing efforts and lead time. However, I think Mehnert made strong gains among most-likely voters this weekend at the convention.

Get a load of Senator Snowe's voting patterns in detail. Not only is she a Bush enabler, but she votes in strong support of Senate leadership as well. In fact, her Frist-enabling has increased dramatically in the past two years. UPDATE/CORRECTION: That's the past two years measured. The data stop at 2004.

Snowe Voted in Favor of Bush Administration Policies over 82% of the Time… Presidential Support Year Support Oppose 2004 74% 26% 2003 82% 18% 2002 90% 10% 2001 84% 16% Average 82.5% 17.5% [www.cq.com] …But Voted in Favor of Clinton Administrations Policies Only 55% of the Time. Presidential Support 2000 62% 38% 1999 49% 51% 1998 55% 45% 1997 78% 22% 1996 53% 47% 1995 42% 58% 1994 60% 40% 1993 41% 59% Average 55% 45% [www.cq.com] Since Entering the Senate in 1995, Snowe has voted with GOP Leadership 67% of the Time. Snowe’s Party Unity Rating has Dramatically Increased in the Last Two Years. Party Unity Ratings Year Support Oppose 2004 71% 29% 2003 75% 25% 2002 57% 43% 2001 64% 36% 2000 71% 29% 1999 69% 31% 1998 65% 35% 1997 59% 41% 1996 72% 28% 1995 70% 30% Average 67.3% 32.7% [www.cq.com]

And yes, I know she voted against cloture today on the Hate Amendment. Forgive me for not considering that cause for celebration. I want Maine's elected representatives to serve in a Congress where that kind of legislation doesn't even come up for discussion. And that means, you don't prop up tyrants, bullies, and incompetents.

Speed reading

We're busy here following up on the convention, writing Mehnert LTEs, digging up dirt on Snowe, and getting ready for Yearly Kos. Meanwhile, check out these don't-miss posts from the last few days:

• Digby on how anti-Democratic storylines infect the media.
• Americablog's campaign to support the supporters of traditional morality. Jesus Christ is this action funny and on target. So richly deserved that tears of gratitude will course down your cheeks.
  
• Bill in Portland Maine's Bush-Truman debates. Pure gold.
• Jerome a Paris asking how much more do corporations need before it trickles down?
• Sirota on how the wingers have hijacked the terms "centrist" and mainstream" and use them as powerful linguistic weapons against us.
• Francis Wilkinson's government by gonads and the manly man narrative.
  
• Crooks & Liars on a religious right video game in which children can shoot New Yorkers while shouting "Praise the Lord."
• Portland Press-Herald endorses Mehnert.