From Mike Groman comes this response to something I posted six hours ago…
I can't speak about Democrats, because I don't know too many of them, but I think you're wrong that "most Republicans would admit they wish they had a guy who could speak better English and hadn't led us into a dual quagmire of Iraq and The Deficit." The Republicans I know — not all from here in Texas, btw — look upon Bush and his administration as defenders of the faith, bastions against the Democrats and the rest of the anti-American liberals. They revel in the tax cuts, completely dismissing the record deficit, strained economy, and increased joblessness as being unrelated, and ignoring the facts that the greatest beneficiaries of the cuts are those who need them least. They glory in the defense of the right to bear arms, asserting that any abridgement of these rights — such as the poorly conceived ban on assault weapons that recently expired — is unconstitutional. They look upon the invasion of Iraq as being a just war and discount the worsening situation during the post-war occupation as being unrelated to Bush's policies and methods. They applaud the application of religious morality to the governance of the country, from "conservatization" of federal courts to restriction of scientific research. They still think Rush Limbaugh is the new Moses.
Am I a Democrat? No. I'm an independent. Until the last two presidential elections, beginning in 1972, I've voted Democrat only once, and I regretted it. My liberal friends say I'm a conservative and my conservative friends say I'm a liberal. I'm neither. I'm a male, straight, pro-choice, concealed handgun toting, pro-science, widowed and divorced, comic book reading, retired military pilot who served in Southeast Asia. I vote on the issues. I don't particularly like Kerry; he seems only marginally more competent, based on his public appearances and speeches, than Bush. However, he's our only hope, Obiwan. For the good of the United States, we need to replace Bush before he and the Republicans do any more damage. Let's just hope Kerry and the Democrats aren't any worse.
Well, you may be right about "most Republicans"…or I may be right and the denial is deeper than I suggested. I don't know how anyone could think that what's happening in Iraq is unrelated to Bush's policies and methods, but I can certainly understand how some couldn't bear to admit it, even to themselves. I'm a little more confident in Kerry's ability than you are, but not a lot. With the kind of voter you describe, it may not matter. They have a vision of Liberals and America that isn't going to change. The best I think Kerry can hope for with them is that they may begin to feel that George W. is not the man they think he is. That won't make them vote for Kerry-Edwards but it might make some of them a little less eager to run out and vote Bush-Cheney on Election Day. Still, I can't help but believe there's no one in their ranks who wouldn't be a lot happier if their guy was the war hero and he seemed to have a better handle on Iraq and the economy.