Why Did They Vote For Bush?

An NYT article by Kate Zernike (“Even Supporters Doubt President as Issues Pile Up”) tells why people in Columbus, Ohio and across the country voted for George Bush in 2004. Seventy-five people were interviewed for the story. Leesa Martin voted for GWB because she admired how he handled the terrorist attacks in 2001. Dave Panici called his vote for Bush “a vote for security”. Mark Briggs said "There is the notion of leadership and sticking with the plan, which I believe in." George Bush is “clear and consistent," he said. Kacey Wilson said she felt Bush spoke the truth. She liked “his cut-and-dry, take-no-prisoners style…I think people are used to more spinning." How people could be used to more spinning than the Bush spinmeisters cranked out, I cannot imagine. But hey, these are Repubs talking. Was Leesa Martin actually aware of what Bush did when he handled the 9/11 attack? Did she process the facts that Bush immediately got his Saudi friends out of the US even though he knew it was the Saudis who had attacked us? He insisted (lied) Iraq was involved in the attack. He claimed (lied) that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction and since he had lied and said Iraq was responsible for the 9/11 attack, he started a war to wipe Iraq off the earth. What’s to admire? And how about Panici’s vote for security? By Election Day of last year, Bush’s war in Iraq had empowered monumental numbers of terrorists around the globe. What security? Now these people are beginning to have doubts. Even so, Mark Briggs said he “did not want to believe that the president ‘manipulated’ intelligence leading the country into war”. The Republicans in Ohio and elsewhere are disappointed and they are having doubts. And as Georgia’s Vicky Polka said, she is even starting to think that “something's not going right here”, but these people will never vote for a Democrat. George W. Bush may be an incompetent, lying, boozed-up idiot, but 37% of the country is as stubborn and convinced they are right as their incompetent, lying, boozed-up idiot leader. Today, Bush and Cheney would lose an election. But the same folks who found reasons to vote for the Bush/Cheney ticket in 2004 will find reasons to vote for any candidates the GOP puts up in 2008.