Is George W. Bush more conservative than the average American?

[nclib]

I voted yes.

[A18]

He's more liberal.

[angus]

agree with phillip.  anybody that has two hundred billion dollars of my money to blow on chasing Saddam is waaaaay more liberal than I am.

[Akno21]

There is no average American.

[angus]

still the best choice in '04 though.  gotta take the whole package, I suppose, can't pick and choose from among his traits, like he's a Mr. Potatohead sort of build-your-own president. 

[angus]

I also think he was a bit more fond of cocaine and alcohol in his earlier years than I was in my earlier years.  Just a bit more, mind you.  Not that this is a "liberal" or "conservative" thing, but it does help him relate to regular guys like me in a way that most super rich guys can't.  know what I mean?

[Beet]

Heck yes.

[angus]

wow, you can already tell this poll is shaping up to have a *sharp* partisan divide.  nice.

[skybridge]

still the best choice in '04 though.  gotta take the whole package, I suppose, can't pick and choose from among his traits, like he's a Mr. Potatohead sort of build-your-own president. 

What on Earth are you trying to say???

[7,052,770]

of course he is

[angus]

still the best choice in '04 though.  gotta take the whole package, I suppose, can't pick and choose from among his traits, like he's a Mr. Potatohead sort of build-your-own president. 

What on Earth are you trying to say???

oh, man, you never had a Mr. Potatohead when you were a kid? 

it's a little plastic potato.  and you can put these little features on it and build it any way you like it.  For example, there's an "I like John Ashcroft" part (the big ears, the better to hear you with, my dear), and the "Socialized Medicine" accessory (big dorky yellow glasses, no doubt paid for with tax money), a "Blue Collar voter" accessory (the hardhat), and, of course, the "Defense of Marriage" appendage (the butt-plug).  It lets you put together your own version of the best combination of small, non-interfering government appendages along with the large, burdensome government appendages to build your perfect candidate.  You mean you never played build your best candidate with a Mr. Potatohead when you were a kid?

[Rob]

Yes, he is.

[George W. Bush]

Yes, he is.

 He's more liberal.

[opebo]

Obviously Bush sits carefully positioned more or less in the middle, or possibly just slightly to the left of the center - of the 51% that elected him! 

If you average in the other 48% all of whom are much to his left, then it is clear that he is very much more 'conservative' than the average american. 

A politician who might fit the average american would be someone like Arlen Specter or Ben Nelson.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

How can anyone say he's more liberal? We already know that 48% of the population is more liberal than him, so does that mean that he's more liberal than all but 2% of the population that voted for him?

[Democratic Hawk]

Yes, the race between conservative Republican (Bush) and liberal Democrat (Kerry) polarises the electorate and the conservative wins despite the fact most Americans are NOT conservative. That said, conservatives still outnumber liberals 2 to 1

As conservatives go, Bush is of the more fiscally irresponsible variety!

Dave

[nclib]

Yes, the race between conservative Republican (Bush) and liberal Democrat (Kerry) polarises the electorate and the conservative wins despite the fact most Americans are NOT conservative. That said, conservatives still outnumber liberals 2 to 1

Good point, and most Americans identify as moderates.

[J.R. Brown]

I think most Americans hate to be labeled as either a liberal or a conservative. Most Americans are liberal on some issues and conservative on others. And really, how can anyone know what most Americans think.

[Frodo]

traditional conservatives can't be too happy with this:

Blueprint Calls for Bigger, More Powerful Government
Some Conservatives Express Concern at Agenda

By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 9, 2005; Page A01

President Bush's second-term agenda would expand not only the size of the federal government but also its influence over the lives of millions of Americans by imposing new national restrictions on high schools, court cases and marriages.

In a clear break from Republican campaigns of the 1990s to downsize government and devolve power to the states, Bush is fostering what amounts to an era of new federalism in which the national government shapes, not shrinks, programs and institutions to comport with various conservative ideals, according to Republicans inside and outside the White House.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9307-2005Feb8.html

[A18]

Calling tort reform and a federal marriage amendment that preserves the status quo a "more powerful" government is hilarious.

[MaC]

he's more socially conservative than the average American.  Fiscally, most Americans are not nearly as unwise as he is.  Those who are usually fit the "problem gambler in need of mental health examination" category.