MSNBC on the midterms: "It's the Bush, stupid" (how low can he go)

[Human Torch]

Looking for clues with 60 days to go
Democrats' message is ‘I'm not for Bush, but my opponent is’



ON THE TRAIL
By Chuck Todd
Updated: 12:16 a.m. MT Sept 7, 2006

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14702339/

WASHINGTON - With just two months until Election Day, it's time to examine when we will know how things are shaping up for Nov. 7 and where to look for clues.

First, President Bush's job-approval rating is hovering at 40 percent, a figure that Republican strategists believe is just barely passable. In this case, "passable" is defined as keeping the House and Senate. But the real danger for the party in power is that Bush's approval numbers can still go lower.

We're already starting to see campaigns engage each other with paid media -- although the GOP dominated the pre-Labor Day airwaves. For many Democratic candidates, these next few weeks will be the first time they've communicated with voters for a sustained period of time. And taking a cue from the polls, the message being sent by House and Senate Democratic campaigns is: "I'm not for Bush, but my opponent is."

If the electorate is as angry as the polls and media indicate, and if that anger is going to be cast upon Bush, then his job-approval rating will start falling again, particularly among likely voters. We should see evidence of that by the end of the month. And the closer Bush's job-approval rating gets to 35 percent, the higher the likelihood that both the House and the Senate will go to the Democrats. However, if Bush's job-approval rating doesn't fall any further after the initial barrage of September anti-Bush paid media, then the GOP should start believing it can win again. So the first marker to check is Bush's job-approval rating on Oct. 1.

[opihimoimoi]

1. This is why the Bush has gone on the offensive with his

Speeches this week. will it work??

Don't know.

The last timew he did this 5 months ago...he went down to 35%