http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-11-16-voa44.cfm

They overlooked Murtha and selected a moderate? Whats the deal here?

A: Read the link on the other thread that you posted on at least 4 hours ago, troll.

"They overlooked Murtha and selected a moderate? Whats the deal here?"

Maybe the Democrats are willing to reach across and get something done with Bush. They so far have shown a lot more willingness to do so than the Republicans, the White House anyways.

Thats not true at all. The Democrats sure picked their share of fights with Reagan. I welcome the compromise. maybe we can get things done. I am a bit surprized that Murtha wasn't their man. I bet "strech" Polosi is ticked off.

"The Democrats sure picked their share of fights with Reagan."

And Reagan, dealing with a much more liberal Congress in numbers, was able to get his agenda largely through. He came out of Iran/Contra unscathed, I guarantee that if Dubya had that happen on his watch he would have made the Richard Nixon impeachment hearings look like a bake sale.

Reagan had *IT*. He was able to appear strong and resolute to the American public and our allies, at the same time working to bridge the gap with our adversaries and the Democrats in Congress, and America was better for it. He had this clout about him that said, "DON'T MESS WITH ME" ... but at the same time he knew when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

Bush has the mental makeup of a slug. He simply doesn't have the capacity to do this I am afraid ... and it will hurt the GOP in 2008.

"Bush has the mental makeup of a slug."

(That was worth saying again.)

Bush has the mental makeup of a slug. He simply doesn't have the capacity to do this I am afraid ... and it will hurt the GOP in 2008.
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Brian that is stooping pretty low. The fact is Reagan was hated as much as Bush is now and he is hated by the same liberals. I hope they are more willing to compromise with our President than you obviously are.

"The fact is Reagan was hated as much as Bush is now and he is hated by the same liberals."

The only President to leave office with a higher approval rating than Reagan was Clinton.

Yeah, he was really hated.

I hope Bush is as willing to deal and compromise as Reagan was and as Clinton was. I HOPE he does and personally HOPE that the GOP learns from its mistakes and comes back to the center a bit and takes a big chunk out of 2008. If Bush doesn't work with the Democrats, we won't.

Author: Brianl
Friday, November 17, 2006 - 6:16 am


"The fact is Reagan was hated as much as Bush is now and he is hated by the same liberals."

The only President to leave office with a higher approval rating than Reagan was Clinton.


that was a skewed poll, Brian! The TV said where the polls came from: New York, Philadelphia and Little Rock. I am surprized that Clinton ONLY had a 67 percent rating.

I hope Bush is as willing to deal and compromise as Reagan was and as Clinton was. I HOPE he does and personally HOPE that the GOP learns from its mistakes and comes back to the center a bit and takes a big chunk out of 2008. If Bush doesn't work with the Democrats, we won't.

Brian the problem the GOP had was that it was way too accomidating with the liberals. If you notice many of the winners who were Democrats were moderate. And why didn't Murtha win if swinging to the left is the key to winning elections? I think the people probably were a bit tired of the old geezers. Why does Ted Kennedy keep winning although he sold secrets to the Russians?

"Why does Ted Kennedy keep winning although he sold secrets to the Russians?"

I am no Teddy Kennedy fan, but Massachusetts keeps electing him ... quite possibly the most liberal state out there.

"Brian the problem the GOP had was that it was way too accomidating with the liberals. If you notice many of the winners who were Democrats were moderate."

Reagan understood that in order to get what he wanted, he sometimes had to give back. It's called negotiating Wayne. It's called diplomacy. Reagan had it in spades. So did G.H.W Bush. So did Clinton.

The two worst Presidents (IMO) at least of the last 100 years, Dubya and Carter, lacked it. They lacked it in different ways: Carter had a liberal Congress but lacked the backbone to see things through, especially on foreign affairs, and Bush is the exact opposite in that his way HAS to be the right way and he's hellbent on ramming that square peg through that damn round hole, whether it fits or not.

Maybe Bush Jr. (should we call him "shrub" maybe .. or "hedge"??) will learn some of that diplomacy and things will get done, because like it or not he has Democrats to deal with for the next two years. Failure to do so, I am afraid, can be catastrophic for the GOP in the near future.

I would agree about Carter. He was a real wimp. I think you are being a bit unfair about W. He did bring down Saddam and Iraq has had free elections for the first time. Maybe if he had a different strategy or got rid of Rumsfield before things might have been better for the GOP. I didn't get the tax relief that others got when they had that a few years ago because I wasn't a parent. I think that a lot of people who were single like me voted Democratic for that reason. What the Republicans need to do is follow the Reagan model. Of course negotiation matters and there probably will be plenty of that in the coming months. At least I hope so. We are long overdue for a wage increase. We haven't had one in how many years now? I bet a lot of voters thought of that too.