"I just think George W. Bush is doing a good job with Iraq and everything else"

[sabra]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/us/politics/09web-elder.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Analyzing Iraq Optimists

About a third of Americans say the war in Iraq is going well. Maybe in the end, their steadfast support and optimism will be rewarded, but for now, they’re a decided minority, leaving those on the other side to ask, who are these people and why do they think that way?

Who they are is the easy part. Why they think what they do is considerably more complicated.

...

Some of the respondents to recent Times/CBS News polls were re-interviewed to discuss their perceptions about how well the war was going. They rarely mentioned attacks on American troops or the failure of the Iraqi government to meet goals. They talked about fighting terrorists, an impression that the United States is succeeding at rebuilding Iraq and general support for Mr. Bush.

“If we don’t stay there and fight them, they’re going to come over here, so I’d just as soon fight them over there,” said Chrys Hills, from Platte, Missouri, a 70 year- old retired planner in a railroad office. “If you listen to the news, we are cleaning up parts of Iraq and the people are starting to tell us where the bad guys are.”

“I just think George W. Bush is doing a good job with Iraq and everything else,” said Susan Brand, 47, a housecleaner in Burnsville Minnesota. “He’s a straight up Republican. He says things are going well there.”

[jtrockville]

1. "He says things are going well". How much is a liar's word worth?

[SammyWinstonJack]

2. Delusional!

Does Susan Brand, 47, a house cleaner, actually think that bush gives a rat's a$$ about her? :rofl: How has he improved her life? And what is "everything else" she speaks of? Think she is a faux snooze viewer? :evilgrin:

[Bluebear]

3. "And everything else!" . . . "I just think!" She sounds 13. nt

[Maddy McCall]

4. ...opined Miss Britney Spears.

:eyes:

[BOSSHOG]

5. "He's a straight up republican"

That's right Ms Brand, that's why he is pegging 25% in approval ratings. He's a straight up lying sack of shit dumbass republican. Good catch.

[quispquake]

6. So...

What percentage of these 'optimists' have a family member fighting over there??? Pretty damned low methinks...

[spindoctor]

7. How do you get through to these people?

Serious, how?

Don't tell me we can't. Let's use the combined brainpower of DU to come up with a method for wiping out this kind of stupidity, preferably before the elections.

How do you target alienated, bubble coated, dimwitted ignorant people like this or as I like to call it, Giluiani's voter base?

Let's get to work. Ideas please.

[EOTE]

11. Wiping out this type of stupidity?

I don't think it can be done. These people are already far too gone. Now appealing to that stupidity... that's a whole other story.

[spindoctor]

13. No, no, no, no, NO! Wrong mindset.

Think constructive.

Assume it can be done. We are here, they are there, how do we bridge the Grand Canyon? That kind of thing.

[Cassandra]

14. We can't

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

[spindoctor]

15. What's with the acceptance?

I didn't go through all of that, pardon me.

Let's assume that at one point or another, these people had a mind (of their own). I don't believe that this is an irreversable situation. Maybe they need to be hit on the head again? Maybe they need 24/7 exposure to Janet Jackson's nipple?

THis is a mission. Cure Kansas, save the world!

[Cassandra]

17. The book is by the social scientist who...

did the research that John Dean based his latest book on.
It's not about intelligence or earning ability or pouring sense in their ears. They are right wing authoritarians because of a psychological need for safety and black and white thinking. It is not ideological. What they need is therapy. Sometimes, life experience has an effect; often they will only justify their own and their leader's behavior but no one else's.
Seriously, when you get the time, read the book. It makes a lot of sense.

[spindoctor]

18. If they need therapy, then give them therapy

Then the question becomes, what kind of therapy and how do we administer it?

There's always a way.

[NuttyFluffers]

19. my vote goes for dropping them off in Iraq w/ a nerf gun

outside of that? years of emotional therapy, tying them down to de construct their psyche and reconstruct from the bottom up. in essence, re-conditioning, which isn't the most progressive thing to do.

they are rabid dogs meant to be sic-ced upon the nearest convenient "enemy" and nothing more. biologically they are mere functional tools for a societies first line of violent offense. they are the aggressive rats that bite everything trying to find a way out... to bite more things.

i really do not follow why you are trying to "save" these people. they serve a biological purpose for the species as expendable shock troops, nothing more, nothing less. it is part of the diversity that every population of life receives. the problem is managing that segment of the population before it becomes unmanageable. one of the world's older solutions was war, which is still a current solution. perhaps we should try group hugs and aromatherapy, but i don't hold out much hope.

[spindoctor]

20. Salvation for the simple minded

I have no intent to become the Jesus Christ of political correctness, but I am a compassionate liberal who feels sorry for these people.

But ok, shipping them off and having them killed is a solution. Maybe not quiteeeee the one we're looking for here but it's a start. Keep up the good work.

[NuttyFluffers]

26. seriously, i suggest reading that book recommended to you

the last chapter is all about what solutions are available because of the challenges involved. he attempts to answer your question.

you must realize what you are dealing with, from a more scientific perspective (which the author kindly provides in a more glossed form). once you realize that you start to see it's a monumental, if not impossible, task to "correct" these people. true, we all have some level of obedience to authority, so we're not dealing with sub-humans guised as humans. but these people are an extreme version of a universal human capacity. and they have tied themselves into a mental gordian knot of denial, projection, dominance, violence, self-righteousness, and blind faith. that's about as dangerous as you can get human-wise without outright tipping into sociopathy.

so, for short-term solutions, outside of 'lots of travel outside their bubble with no means to defend themselves' (aka, "ship 'em to iraq w/ a nerf gun") you come up mostly emptyhanded. long-term solutions... usually the same ol' same ol', education, shared humanity, travel, etc. but that requires *generations* to ramp down the madness in a society. sometimes the fastest way at that point is to let a fire burn itself out; let it burn up all its fuel/advantages and then smother it when it's weak.

but might i say, i applaud your optimism! maybe you can be part of that "shared humanity" solution. and, if they should "ally" with you and welcome you into their 'in-group,' think of how useful it will be to have frenzied dogs as defenders of hearth and beasts of burden. works hard, easily cowed, follows orders... the only catch is you have to teach them who's master (for they cannot understand any other dynamic).

[Telly Savalas]

21. A big start would be to ask them to start paying for the war

instead of funding it with deficit spending, thereby shifting the financial burden to our children and grandchildren.

[spindoctor]

24. Excelent! A fund raiser for the war.

Start an organization called something like "Patriots Against Retaliation". Write a passionate letter outlining that Uncle Sam needs their support in financing our stay in Iraq. Follow up with numerous phone calls (preferably during supper time) about how the troops really need your cheque, bla, bla...

[zanne]

8. Their self-image is tied to Bush's success.....

They can't admit that Bush is a disaster--they've invested too much in him emotionally and culturally.

[Bluebear]

9. PRECISELY. nt

[Nightjock]

12. BINGO!

You nailed it.

[THUNDER HANDS]

22. sounds like more than a few Dem. candidate supporters on this forum

I won't name names or candidates, but that analysis could be applied here as well.

[Aviation Pro]

10. First line of bullshit....

...from the charwoman, "I think." No, you don't.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

16. "He says things are going well there" (translation = he does my thinking for me)

And if an evil moron does your thinking for you, you're in trouble.

[KharmaTrain]

23. People Believe What They Want To Believe

There's no question Repugincans are in full denial mode these days. There's too many fires and too many bad things going on...so what's a wingnut to do? Ignore, deny, blame and pretend day is night. By now if a person can't see the corruption and lies, they never will...and if they're attempting to ignore these facts away, they're traitors.

[goaman]

25. GWB is an asshole

I just think that GWB is the biggest asshole and his pants are on fire..how about that!