Reply #34: I remember a great deal of divisivness ...

[NanceGreggs]

... leading up to the Patriot Act, and especially leading up to Iraq. Bush's approval shot up to over 90% the day after 9-11, yes - but from there it was a steady decline downwards, and he was below 60% just prior to the invasion of Iraq. So obviously, we were not a country united behind him or his policies.

Perhaps it's a matter of who we 'hang' with, if I can put it in those terms. I remember that among my family and friends, we talked of little else once Bush started mentioning going into Iraq. I remember everyone saying WTF? What does THIS have to do with 9-11, or what we were supposedly trying to accomplish in Afghanistan?

So I don't see how you can say that the present situation is a result of Americans coming together and acting as one. We were a deeply divided country on the heels of the 2000 election and Bush's installation in the WH and - with the exception of the immediate aftermath of the shock of 9-11, and being fairly united about going after Bin Laden in Afghanistan - we have been a deeply divided nation since.

There is no "working as one" here at all.