Reply #14: 9/11 is a good indicator

[last_texas_dem]

If Clinton hadn't been term-limited from running again in '00 and had won re-election (which I believe he would have), I don't think he would have gotten nearly the honeymoon period that Shrub got, had 9/11 still happened on his (Clinton's) watch. I think that's indicative of something. Democrats really dislike Shrub, and did even back then, but even the majority of them (admittedly, myself not included) "rallied around the flag" long enough that * had an approval rating in the low-90's for a month or so after the attacks. The dislike/hatred of Clinton bordered on the pathological among the hard right-wing of the Republican party to the point that I don't believe Clinton's approval rating, even in the event of a national crisis, would have ever risen above the seventies. I could be wrong, but this is just my perception, and this is one of the main reasons I think the hatred of Clinton was a bit stronger than the hatred of * is now. However, I am also around a lot more strong conservatives than strong liberals, so I may just have not seen enough intense Shrub-bashing for me to judge fairly!