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Bush has been a popular war-time president overall. And, having suffered through those woeful years of rampant economic success and scandalous behavior under Clinton, Republics have now crawled out of the woodwork to yell loudly and affirmatively that they're going to put the world back the way it oughta be. And Bush is their man to do it. His biggest failure -- spending -- will be forgiven in light of the war. I simply think he'll get re-elected unless he does something truly stupid (meaning above and beyond his normal level).
The Republicans took time in the 90's to establish and fund "think tanks" that would outline the party's position on issues and package those issues in a way that "sold" the public. They are a very unified and together party.
Dems on the other hand, are viewed -- and rightly so -- as scattered ninnies with a lot to whine about and no real vision of how to fix things that may be wrong. Until they get their big union guys to fork over several million bucks to fund "think tanks" like the Repugs have, the Repugs have a competitive advantage in unity that cannot be beaten easily.
So, down with Dems in '04, most likley.
However, in '08, we'll have 4 more years to regret Bush's spending, we'll have over $10 trillion in debt, and our nation's economic credibility will be turning south. Additionally, I'm sure our unilateral actions taken without working to negotiate with other nations will have turned more foreigners and Americans against the Repugs.
Additionally, they need a candidate. Cheney ain't gonna do it. He's not trusted, has "conflict of interest" issues, and is about 2 pork chops away from a coronary. He debated Lieberman well at my alma mater in 2000, but I don't think he can win a presidency. Who would Repugs put up? Don't know, but there are several obvious Democrats for '04 and no obvious Republicans at this point.
But, '08 is certainly hard to predict. I'm thinking Hillary may try it, but then again I think she'll be smart enough to let some other woman FAIL at running for president before she tries it. Besides, she'll look like a better candidate after she has spent more time gaining seniority in Moynihan's old chair.
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