I’m pretty sure you don’t want to go down that path. You want to try again? Or this could turn into a pretty silly game.

Obama’s personality cult also continues among young people, with 66% of those under 29 years of age giving Obama a favorable rating.

As usual, the left-wing blogosphere, composed of ultra-liberal activists who sympathize with genuine socialism and pacifism and chafe that they can’t get those here, is not representative of the Obama coalition, which is very much still holding. It’s holding due to Obama’s personal popularity with those groups. They see him as one of them, just as RedState America sees Sarah Palin as one of them.

Obama continues to be the candidate of the young, the blacks, and the Hispanics. They just adore him.

But you ought to take a look at what liberals were saying about Bush right after the disastrous November 2000 election recount in Florida. The vast majority of them believed that Bush stole the election. They were screaming that Congress shouldn’t even approve Bush’s Cabinet nominees, because they regarded the Bush Administration as illegitimate. I had friends who were mainstream Democrats, decent, level-headed people, who were absolutely convinced that Bush stole the election and that Gore had “really” won it.

Try digging up polls from the period December 2000 – August 2001 and see for yourself what liberals thought of Bush.

There certainly may have been a “cult of personality” that developed leading up to his election – but if you think it’s persisting, you’re listening to right wing media far more than to left wing media. The latter have been very hard on him, attacking him for not pursuing charges against the Bush Admin on torture/detention/warrantless wiretapping … for not pushing for war crimes investigations … for not being aggressive enough on demanding a strong public option for healthcare … for defending Bush Admin claims for Executive Powers that they view as un- or extra-constitutional … for not pushing for a larger stimulus package, and for allowing tax cuts to be too large a part of the portion that was passed. In fact, Obama has probably taken more hits in the liberal media in his first 6 months in office than Bush did in his first 4 years in office from the conservative media.

Gallup Poll – “We’d like to get your overall opinion of some people in the news. As I read each name, please say if you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of these people — or if you have never heard of them. How about George W. Bush?” 11/26-27/01 – favorable 87%

Why is that relevant? Well, if you look at other Gallup polling near that date:

“Do you think abortions should be legal under any circumstances, legal only under certain circumstances, or illegal in all circumstances?”
8/01: 82% responded any circumstances (26%) or certain circumstances (56%)

“With which one of these statements about the environment and the economy do you most agree? Protection of the environment should be given priority, even at the risk of curbing economic growth. OR, Economic growth should be given priority, even if the environment suffers to some extent.”
3/4-7/02 environment 54%
3/5-7/01 environment 57%

“In general, do you feel that the laws covering the sale of firearms should be made more strict, less strict, or kept as they are now?”
10/11-14/01 53% more strict; 38% kept as now

“Do you think the Republican Party or the Democratic Party would do a better job of dealing with each of the following issues and problems? The federal budget.”
Aug. 24-26, 2001 Democratic Party 45%, Republican Party 44%

I bring these up because the liberal position in each of these cases draws significant support … and yet, we had an 87% favorability rating for George W. Bush.

In other words, if you define “liberal” as people who are in favor of abortion rights (even limited rights), pro-gun control, believe environmental protection is more important than economic growth, and believe Democrats deal with the budget better than Republicans … it is demonstrable that the vast majority of “liberals” gave Bush a favorable rating in the months after 9/11.

Fanatical dislike? I think not. And continuing to believe that is just a way of blinding yourself to all the things that Bush – who sold himself during the 2000 elections as a centrist Republican, and not at all the doctrinaire right winger he ended up being on many positions – did to turn off the American public over his 8 years in office. Which will inevitably lead to continuing to advocate positions that remind people of the things they most came to dislike about Bush’s Presidency.

Learn what the term “yellow dog Democrat” meant.
And those Democrats lived quite a while ago.

“Passion and prejudice properly aroused and directed, do about as well as principle and reason in any party contest.”
— Thomas Elder, Whig Party, 1840