By: Mary Mostert, Analyst, Banner of Liberty (www.bannerofliberty.com)
August 27, 2001
Vice-President Dick Cheney delivered the keynote address Saturday at the Utah Republican Convention Saturday, to a cheering crowd of approximately 4000 people. He thanked the state leaders for "giving us fine partners to work with in the House and Senate" and reminded them that, in spite of the controversy over the election, which cut the Bush presidency's transition time in half, the "new administration hit the ground running and has made progress in the past seven month."
The Bush tax cut plan has been implemented, a national energy policy has been drafted and the process to improve military salaries has begun, he said. "Each tax rebate check is a reminder of a promise made by candidate Bush and a promise kept by President Bush." He also reminded them that the Bush education program would give more control to states, cities and local school boards and put the U.S. Department of Education into a more cooperative attitude.
However, the most important accomplishment, Cheney said, was "bringing honor and dignity back to the White House after eight years of the Clinton Administration and its scandals."
As near as I can tell, no national news source mentioned anything Cheney said. The media ignores anything good said about George W. Bush usually.
And, of course, that tax rebate being a reminder of a promise made by Bush, and a promise kept by Bush appears to be a point that sticks in the craw of the Democrat leaders. Last week the Democratic National Committee ran accusing Bush of jeopardizing Social Security and Medicare because the budget surpluses have shrunk from a projected $281 billion in February to a projected $158 billion in August, according to a White House report. The argument is that Bush, who promised to never spend Social Security funds, has brought the budget "close to spending excess Social Security revenue."
President Bush has reminded the Democrats that, with less money, they need to spend less, a principle that many parents have to teach their "I-want-everything" teen-agers.
Trying to frighten those on Social Security and Medicare seemed to work well for the Democrats, according to the media back in November 1995 when Clinton vetoed the Budget Reconciliation Act of 1995 that would balance the federal budget in seven years. Also, in 1995, the Democrats voted against Congressional Resolution 109, which repealed the 50% tax on all earnings in excess of $11,999 of those over age 65, while at the same time launching a media campaign blaming the Republicans for "hurting poor and working class Americans."
I suspect the technique may not work as well this time. First of all, many very elderly people who were alive in 1995, those with vivid memories of the Great Depression of the 1930s, have died. Those turning 65 in 2001 were born in 1936 and don't have personal memories of the depression that so thoroughly frightened their parents. They also are not World War II veterans. And, besides, the younger generation supports the notion of privatizing Social Security so they have more personal control over their retirement funds.
Gallup poll results in August of 1993 and August of 2001show only a few issues where both candidates were asked approximately the same question. However, on almost all issues Bush's scores much high than Clinton did in his first year or two in office. Those issues were:
"Do you approve or disapprove of the way he is handling:
Foreign Affairs:
On September 23-25 1994 (no available poll results in 1993) Clinton's approval rating was 40% and his disapproval rating was 55%
On July 10-11 2001 Bush's approval rating was 54% and his disapproval rating was 36%.
Economy
On September 23-25 1994 (no available poll results in 1993) Clinton's approval rating was 40% and his disapproval rating was 55%
On July 20-11 2001 Bush's approval rating was 54% and his disapproval rating was 36%
Taxes
On July 15-17 1994 (no available poll results in 1993) Clinton's approval rating was 31% and his disapproval rating was 61%
On July 10-11 2001 Bush's approval rating was 60% and his disapproval rating was 33% -
Education
On August 8-10 1993- Clinton's approval rating was 47% and his disapproval rating was 37%.
On July 10-11 2001 Bush's approval rating was 63% and his disapproval rating was 25%
Federal Budget
On January 15-17 1994 (no available poll results in 1993) Clinton's approval rating was 33% and his disapproval rating was 62%
On April 20-22 2001 Bush's approval rating was 52% and his disapproval rating was 37%
Environment
On August 8-10, 1993 Clinton's approval rating was 53% and his disapproval rating was 32%
On July 10-11, 2001 Bush's approval rating was 46% and his disapproval rating was 42%
Job Approval Rating
When Clinton had been in office for seven months, August 23-25, 1993, his "job approval" rate
was 44% and his disapproval rate was 48%
Bush's Job Approval rate, after seven months in office, is 57% and his disapproval rate is 34%.
I suspect I'm not the only person in America who has studied these poll comparisons. The ONLY area where Clinton out-polled Bush was in the environment issue. That, undoubtedly, is why the environment is about the only issue the media shows poll comparisons about.
And, during those years when Clinton was showing high approval ratings for his position on the environment, people were not experiencing sky-high heating and electric bills or having black-outs.
To comment: mmostert@bannerofliberty.com