Bush clippings

have a news aggragator called Newsgator, where I can "clip out" news items for future reference. My Bush folder is full to overflowing with stories about OCP (our current president).
So let's just toss them:

Bush's approval rating near his record low - No matter where he goes or what he says, OCP's ratings continue to plummet. Impending civil war in Iraq, potentially compromised U.S. ports, Katrina videoconference tapes, trips abroad - nothing seems to help very much. The general public does not think his job performance is satisfactory. To quote CNN.com,

Approval of President Bush's performance is near all-time lows for his presidency. Friday, March 3, 2006; (CNN links)• Interactive: Bush approval rating
• Full poll results (PDF)
• Tapes show White House warned about Katrina
• Despite polls, Bush upbeat
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's approval rating is mired near its record low amid concerns about his ability to manage the government and pessimism over the war in Iraq, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Thursday. The poll, conducted Tuesday and Wednesday, found Bush's approval rating at 38 percent -- down a percentage point from a mid-February survey and just a point above his record low of 37 percent in November. His disapproval rating was 60 percent, tying November's worst-ever mark.

No full House inquiry into the NSA domestic spying program - The House Intelligence Committee has blinked rather than demand a justified oversight role. However, the committee may call the administration's bluff regarding the current FISA law. If the law is the problem, as they claim, then revising the law could fix those legal difficulties. If that was still not enough, then we would know what the actual agenda is - unfettered spying on Americans. Reuters headlines their story,

House committee agrees plan to oversee NSA program
Thu Mar 2, 2006 06:37 PM ET By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives intelligence committee agreed on Thursday to accept limited oversight of President George W. Bush's domestic spying program in a deal that appeared to sideline the push for a full inquiry. Under a plan intended to win White House approval, the committee said active scrutiny of the National Security Agency program would be limited to an unnamed subcommittee rather than opened to the panel's full 20 members. But the full committee will conduct a comprehensive review the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in hopes of modernizing the 1978 law, which critics say Bush's warrantless NSA surveillance program violates. Administration officials have criticized the act as too outdated to deal with the agile and resourceful al Qaeda.
"The committee has agreed to a process that allows us to move forward," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, Republican chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Hoekstra said the White House had not signed off on the oversight plan, but predicted that limiting oversight to relatively few lawmakers could facilitate a deal. White House officials fear wider disclosure would raise security risks.

SUSA's 50-state illegal wiretap poll by Kos. (2-28-06) This week-old story explores how the American public currently views the issue of domestic spying. To quote (links by Kos),

SurveyUSA has a 50-state poll of Bush's illegal wiretaps:
Somewhat predictably, sorting the states by states who most believe Bush broke the law closely tracks the states in which he is most unpopular.
But surprising, there are only four states in which Bush breaks 40 percent of respondents who think it is "clear Bush obeyed the law", and he tops out at 42 percent in Oklahoma. His best spread of any state is Nebraska, where 41 percent think Bush clearly obeyed the law, while 29 think he clearly broke it.

Report Examines Effect of Bush's FY 2007 Budget Proposal on Women's Programs - by Womens Policy.org. This link could be one to save for future reference. It lays our the administration's budget plan, program by program. Quoting the introduction to an excellent and comprehensive article,

The following summarizes President Bush’s budget proposal for a number of programs important to women and their families. Comparisons to last year’s funding levels reflect allocations provided by Congress in the FY2006 appropriations bills (see The Source, 12/22/05).

Quote of the Day - by James Baldwin (1924 - 1987) US author
"The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side."
Tags: Bush administration public opinion polls political In the news
My "creative post" today at Southwest Blogger is about the Kennedys.