Polls are polls. They change. Particularly when manipulated by the actions of a President from his bully pulpit.

None the less, trends are trends. And Newsweek's just released numbers from Apr. 8 - 9, would show an alarming one for the "President". These numbers and trends are also echoed by virtually every other recently released poll.

If polls are good enough to make Rush cream in his pants, they are good enough for me too.

Bush's handling of Iraq
APPROVE: %44 DISAPPROVE: %51
(One year ago)
APPROVE: %69 DISAPPROVE %26

Bush's handling of terrorism and homeland security
APPROVE %59 (down from %70 earlier this year)

Bush Admin underestimated threat of terror attacks on U.S. soil
AGREE: %60

Has Bush Admin INCREASED or DECREASED risk of large number of people being killed or injured in future terrorist attacks in the United States
INCREASED: %42 DECREASED: %29
(End of last year)
INCREASED: %28 DECREASED: %30

Concerned that Iraq will become another Vietnam
VERY/SOMEWHAT CONCERNED: %64
NOT TOO/NOT AT ALL: %34

Satisfied or Dissatisfied with the way things are going in this country
SATISFIED: %36 DISSATISFIED: %59

Bush's handling of the economy
APPROVE: %41 DISAPPROVE: %55

Bush vs Kerry
KERRY: %50 BUSH: %43

Only the best TV show ever.

UPDATE SINCE LAST NIGHT: From Drudge...'NICK AND JESSICA' CONQUER PRIMETIME! DUO'S ABC VARIETY SPECIAL WINS TIMESLOT, NIGHT WITH 7.8 RATING/12 SHARE, ACCORDING TO NIELSEN... NETWORK TO ORDER ADDITIONAL SPECIALS, PLOTS REGULAR SERIES

The Presidential Daily Briefing from August 6, 2001, entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." was declassified and released by the Whitehouse about 9 minutes ago.

The PDB was described this week by Condi Rice as nothing more than an "historical document" presented to the President during a summer when "chatter" had reached an all time high. ("Unbelievable news coming in weeks," "Big event ... there will be a very, very, very, very big uproar," "There will be attacks in the near future.")

The final two paragraphs of the just released "historical" PDB include the following:

The next day after receiving this briefing the President left for a 30 day vacation in Crawford, TX.

Smartly blogged by atrios:

Still trying to decide who's giving you the straight story, Clarke or Rice? The LA Times offers a side-by-side comparison on their differing answers to a few items, for example:

So who's telling the truth? See this article from Center for American Progress comparing Condi's opening statement this week with on-the-record facts. You decide.

"Good news!" reports Fox News in a FOX NEWS ALERT just minutes ago. "Rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is reportedly in negotiations with the Iraqi Governing Council".

I ask you, would Fox News report negotiations with terrorists as being "good news" if this was a Democrat war?

Speaking of which, one would think the NeoCons have had their last hurrah. They were given a chance with this Administration and have completely blown all credibility, shooting their wad in one disastrous Iraqi swoop.

Yet they're still in there kicking as described in an article this morning entitled "Still Dreaming of Tehran: Iran now on neocon/Likudnik cross-hairs":

Amazing. Will Fox and the American Public buy this one too? Watch for increasing anti-Iranian polemic coming outta these camps as Iraq turns uglier.

What to make of this item?

"Democrats are positively obsessed with hearings...Ever since Watergate, Democrats have tried and tried to accomplish with Congressional hearings what they couldn't legitimately accomplish at the ballot box." - Rush Limbaugh, 4/9/04, 3rd Broadcast Hour.

One other public service for our DittoHead readers. Rush told you today that "the president's numbers are up!". You can read it yourself on his site, on the page called: "Truth Detector: Despite Media Frenzy, Bush Numbers Up".

The specific CNN/Time "numbers" that Rush is talking about can be found on CNN's site, on the page called: "Poll: Rice testimony yields mixed results for White House - Majority: Administration had no al Qaeda strategy before 9/11".

And then there's the part of that same poll that Rush didn't tell you about at all. It's on the CNN page called "Poll finds divided opinion of Bush's performance: Support for president's Iraq policy falls sharply".

You'd think these guys would have learned by now. The cover-up did in Nixon, almost did in Clinton and here we are all these years later, and they seem to be doing it again.

Condi did just fine yesterday. Handled herself very smartly. Passed a curious number of bucks, but held it together. In the process however, she exposed some FACTS that - unless the Bushies come clean and quickly - could well end up doing these guys in as well. And all perhaps for no good reason.

FACTS we learned from Condi (straight from the transcripts):

I hope she's right. It looks like the August 6 PDB may be declassified tomorrow - on the Saturday before Easter, of course.

Given that the Whitehouse was initially against the creation of the Homeland Security Dept, fought against the impanelling of the 9/11 Commission entirely, has withheld documents and testimony from them, much of it released only by threat of subpeona and/or public and political humiliation, has yet to declassify Condi's Public Speech on National Security Sept. 11th, has fought to keep that Aug 6 PDB from being declassified and will only agree to a "visit" by Bush and Cheney in front of the Commission if they are allowed to do so together, it certainly gives the appearance that they are hiding something. Don't it? And that's all their doing.

On a personal note, I'll add that I'd prefer the Report from the 9/11 Commission didn't come out at all until after the Elections. The information from the Report is far too important to be torn apart by the partisanship that it will undoubtedly be met with (and in the process, disregarded because of) in the wake of such a hotly contested Presidential Election.

On the other hand, given this Administration's obstructive behavior, dubious public posturing, penchant for misleading information and out and out despicable character assassination, perhaps a Report which offers information into how the folks running for re-election have handled things would be helpful to the American Public in making a more informed decision. One way or the other.

Of course, had the Bush Whitehouse not taken so long in getting the Commission set up and then spent months stonewalling them, perhaps this all would have been done by now. They have only themselves to blame, but it's the Country that may pay the price.

"PDB"

"Shaking the trees"

"Running around with hair on fire"

"Actionable intelligence"

Incredible. I'm not a Howard Stern fan (though I don't have anything in particular against him), but this is finally becoming both ridiculous and horrifying.

After being fined $475k by Michael Powell's FCC, Clear Channel (the top Broadcast Contributor to the Republican Party) has fired Howard Stern.

Amazing. Hasn't this fraudulent Presidency done enough to shred the Constitution up till now?

It's precisely this sort of thing that might make a guy like me vote for a dullard like John F. Kerry this November. If that's what it takes to get this dangerous Administration the hell outta town I may just go ahead and pull that lever.

And if you think Stern's fans won't show up to do the same, you're living in a Fool's Paradise...for another 8 months anyway. You guys on the Right wanted a Culture War? It's on, jack-holes.

Be sure to check Stern's Website for what the FCC isn't doing to Oprah! Un-frickin'-believable.

Anyone remember the Summer of 2000? The fake "power crisis" in California that eventually paved the way for the Recall of Gray Davis?

Remember the claims by Rush and Friends that it was all due to the Environmental Whacko's who wouldn't allow California to build more power plants? That Davis and California had only themselves to blame because they were out of touch, birkenstock-wearing Libs who finally were getting their comeuppance for their failed tree-hugging environmental policies?

Remember those Environmental Whackos who used FACTS to explain that the "power shortage" was a fraud created and manipulated by the Power Marketeers like Enron and Reliant? (You may not remember that part, since the Media, as "Liberal" as we all know they are, didn't seem to get the word out on that as well as they got the Conservatives completely made-up spin out there).

Well, today, a Federal Grand Jury has finally begun the process of correcting the record with it's indictment of Reliant for manipulating the Power Markets during the "Crisis of 2002". From Reuters:

Shocking! Whodathunkit?! It goes on:

No! Really?!

Oddly enough, DittoHeads didn't get this breaking news today from Rush and his stack of stuff, but I'm sure Sean will be getting to it any minute. Just after he pulls his tongue out of Condi's ass.

9 great questions for Condi from Peter Bergen in Sunday's NY Times. And another 6 good ones from Scott Armstrong there as well.

Anticipating Bergen's #9, ahead of time, Reuters reports that Condi has "no plans to make a public apology" tomorrow. Oh, that's good. Humbling one's self can be so unseemly at a time like this.

As well, following the Bush Admin's penchant for flip-flopping on all things 9/11, it looks like they may be reversing course yet again regarding the speech she was to have given on 9/11. According to the Reuters report:

Hmmm...they will let them "review" it. Does that mean they'll give it to them and we'll all get to see it? It was to have been a public speech after all. Or, like other documents from the Whitehouse (actual secret ones), will they be allowed to walk past it quicklky in the dark naked with a flashlight?

We'll find out tomorrow morning. They are, after all, "cooperating with the commission fully", so we can all look forward to that.