Bush is unpopular and so is his talking doll.

Dailykos

August 19,2007

Today, my father, my older brother, and I attended a "Computer Fair and Ham Fest" in Westminster, Maryland. As Westminster is in the more conservative, "Republican" part of Maryland, where pickup trucks with Ehrlich and Steele bumper stickers on them are plentiful, I was pleasantly surprised to hear disdain for President Bush voiced by a number of the venders and attendees.

As is the case in many areas of the country, the displeasure with Bush, in large part, revolved around the Iraq War. The short term benefits of this for the Democratic Party, and for the United States of America, will be good, especially if they lead to an administration committed to a change of direction after the 2008 elections. After listening to conversation today, however, I am much more uncertain of the long-term benefits. Especially as I seem to be watching a most unwise framing of the history of the Iraq War take hold.

The revelation that Bush is no longer as popular as he used to be in Maryland’s Republican country came thanks to one vender, who was selling, along with various technical gadgets, a number of talking, George W. Bush dolls. The dolls were being sold "on the cheap," in large part because their necks were "broken." This meant that, rather than looking straight forward, the dolls stood there, staring down at their feet – making them look somehow "ashamed," in a way that I only wish our "real" president were capable of.

By the time I walked up to the stand, the vender was already joking with my older brother about the dolls, and explaining that, because of the broken necks, they were being offered at a discount. At this point, an older gentleman in a U.S. Navy cap, who had been standing near by, piped up and said, "If only that would happen in real life. Blame me, I guess. I voted for him.

Twice. Who knew what would happen?"

I was floored. This was Carroll County, Maryland. Rural, conservative, uber-Republican. Represented in the U.S. House by right-wing nutjob Roscoe Bartlett. If Bush is losing the people there, if even small cracks are stating to form, then he’s in big trouble – big enough trouble to explain his high 20s, low 30s approval rating. If Bush’s unpopularity rubs off on the Republican Party, and the Republican nominee, they may very well be screwed in the 2008 elections. That’s potentially very good news for the Democratic Party, at least in the short term.