80% of Republicans approve of George W. Bush, 43% would vote for him in 2016

[ElectionsGuy]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/georgew-bush-jeb-bush-poll_5604456fe4b00310edfa78d0

What a sad state of affairs.

[Bigby]

Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

As much as I think Dubya was a poor president, I can see where some would think he'd be better than anyone currently striving for the Republican nomination. He's certainly better than any of the frontrunners right now.

[Zioneer]

And honestly, this is why Republicans will probably lose 2016. They haven't gotten over the Bush years and Bush mentality. Mind you, neither have the Democrats, but they don't have Bush's legacy to deal with...

[Antonio the Sixth]

And honestly, this is why Republicans will probably lose 2016. They haven't gotten over the Bush years and Bush mentality. Mind you, neither have the Democrats, but they don't have Bush's legacy to deal with...

From a policy perspective, the worst thing George W. Bush did for America was to essentially remove a "boots on the ground" military option from the table for an entire generation.

Well, that and the worst recession since the 1930s.

[Maxwell]

This is proof that Jeb's losses are because of his own incompetence.

[Skill and Chance]

And honestly, this is why Republicans will probably lose 2016. They haven't gotten over the Bush years and Bush mentality. Mind you, neither have the Democrats, but they don't have Bush's legacy to deal with...

From a policy perspective, the worst thing George W. Bush did for America was to essentially remove a "boots on the ground" military option from the table for an entire generation.

Well, that and the worst recession since the 1930s.

I'm not sure the 2003 Iraq War will be a major sticking point going forward.  If anything, people are more anxious about needing to intervene in the Middle East now than at any time since 2005.  The 2008 recession will be, though and it's the main reason Obama has held up so well in the extended meh economy that followed.

But it's hard to blame Bush for bank deregulation.  Clinton and the Republican congress did that in the late 1990's.  In this sense Bush was unlucky that 2008 will always be his legacy.  I similarly fault Harding/Coolidge more for the Depression than Hoover, who actually did some creative stuff to try and contain it. 

In my view, the wipeout of 2008 is blinding Republicans to just how effective the Bush strategy was.  He managed to combine record turnout among white social conservatives with the best minority performance for the GOP since 1965.  A proud Evangelical Christian with a dash of economic populism who loudly condemns radical Islam abroad while being explicitly anti-racist on the home front is a winning strategy for the American right.  For 2016, he/she would have to renounce the anti-gay stuff in "Christ loves all people" fashion, but all other elements of the Bush strategy still hold.

[pikachu]

Ah, now I see why Jeb is doing a full embrace of the Dubya era.

[dead0man]

As much as I think Dubya was a poor president, I can see where some would think he'd be better than anyone currently striving for the Republican nomination. He's certainly better than any of the frontrunners right now.

Indeed.

And honestly, this is why Republicans will probably lose 2016. They haven't gotten over the Bush years and Bush mentality. Mind you, neither have the Democrats, but they don't have Bush's legacy to deal with...

From a policy perspective, the worst thing George W. Bush did for America was to essentially remove a "boots on the ground" military option from the table for an entire generation.

Well, that and the worst recession since the 1930s.

Presidents have very little control over the economy.

[bagelman]

Ah, now I see why Jeb is doing a full embrace of the Dubya era.

This makes sense, he would drop this embrace like a rock in the GE.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

As much as I think Dubya was a poor president, I can see where some would think he'd be better than anyone currently striving for the Republican nomination. He's certainly better than any of the frontrunners right now.

Indeed.

And honestly, this is why Republicans will probably lose 2016. They haven't gotten over the Bush years and Bush mentality. Mind you, neither have the Democrats, but they don't have Bush's legacy to deal with...

From a policy perspective, the worst thing George W. Bush did for America was to essentially remove a "boots on the ground" military option from the table for an entire generation.

Well, that and the worst recession since the 1930s.

Presidents have very little control over the economy.

Agreed but in this case there is a pretty clear correlation. It of course was due to policies started in the Clinton years that Bush never once considered tightening. This was something where action could have prevented it (or at least seriously lessened the effects of it) even as late as 04 or 05

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Yes, sometimes I do. 

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

And honestly, this is why Republicans will probably lose 2016. They haven't gotten over the Bush years and Bush mentality. Mind you, neither have the Democrats, but they don't have Bush's legacy to deal with...

From a policy perspective, the worst thing George W. Bush did for America was to essentially remove a "boots on the ground" military option from the table for an entire generation.

For the next decade or so, we will probably be confined to aerial, drone-based warfare, even in situations where it's not the best or most prudent method. Why? Because after thousands of Americans got sent across the world for a totally pointless war, voters and elected officials are wont to send more Americans across the world, even if it's for a legitimate reason.

There are no legitimate reasons for troops to be going overseas at the moment, so no problem there.

[All Along The Watchtower]

They approve of the hyped up 'Murica yellow ribbon zeitgeist that pervaded the 2000s, and of all the Hummers and iPods and Xbox 360s and Caribbean vacations they were able to buy with their easy-to-get home equity loans.

They don't approve of the consequences of all of that, which didn't fully manifest themselves until after Dubya moved to Dallas.

Thanks Obama!

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

People have bad memory. Bush was an unquestionable failure.

[Frodo]

So apparently it isn't the surname that's holding Jeb Bush back at all (at least when it comes to winning his party's nomination), but simply his own ineptitude as a presidential candidate.  

Good to know.  

[Kingpoleon]

Page Carter, Democratic

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

People have bad memory. Bush was an unquestionable failure.

Past Presidents grow exponentially more popular as time passes.  This is nothing new, Obummernation.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

His approvals amongst the general public have hovered between 46%-52% in recent weeks/months so...there's that.

[Famous Mortimer]

Honestly surprised these numbers aren't higher. George Bush is the epitome of a generic Republican at this point.