Ref me, I know you ref me, I know you ref me blind...

I'm referenced blind in this entry by right-wing blogger Dr. Sanity linking to a post on the conservative, macho, pro-Bush site The Corner. It looks at the job approval ratings of other presidents of the past 40 years. It's all an attempt to prove that, really and truly, this isn't a presidency in a state of disrepair.

It makes the good Doctor stand up and crow:

Clinton dipped to 38% job approval in August and September 1994? I certainly don't remember any significant brouhaha being made about it at the time.... But, obviously, considering the enormous faith that the MSM and the Left have in polls, we must conclude that their beloved Clinton was a failed president--even worse than W --using their own standards of evaluation!

One of my lefty commentors described Clinton in the thread to this post discussing Clinton's "legacy" as, "A president the American people loved even when the other guys were impeaching him."

My response at the time was raucous laughter (still is). People who live by the polls, die by the polls.

As my teen would say, BOOYAH!

I'm the "lefty commentor" she mentions. And yeah, I know: I don't think we're allowed to make up our own words either (commentor?) but let's not make a big thing about that. Because she's right, if you live and die only by the polls.

Trouble is, Clinton did not choose to start a quagmire of a war.
Bush did.
Clinton did not cynically abuse the faith of a nation and a world united like never before.
Bush did.
No lie Clinton ever told cost one American his or her life.
Just one of Bush's lies has now cost 1,900 Americans their lives.
Clinton did not reward his political cronies with jobs of critical responsibility for which they were supremely unqualified. Making them and him complicit in the deaths of hundreds of more Americans.
Bush did.

I think the American people know that. And I would point out something about the lowest numbers cited in the Corner post:

George H.W. Bush hit 29 percent in July 1992...Jimmy Carter hit 28 percent in June 1979...Richard Nixon spent most of 1974 in the 20s, hitting 24 percent just before his resignation.

Two of the three either took us to or perpetuated wars fought for murky reasons. One presided over a lousy economy, which may or may not have been his fault; trouble was, few people thought he could fix it. Few people thought he even understood what the trouble was. One could not convince Americans that he could effectively keep them safe from being taken hostage, nuclear meltdowns, or "malaise." The dishonesty of one became so loathsomely apparent he had to resign.

War without good and sufficient reason.
A troubled economy, about which a president seems to be disconnected from reality.
A failure to keep Americans safe.
Blatant dishonesty.

Three failed presidencies.

Tick...tick...boom.