Just wondering...

[twestling]

As a European, I'm amazed how softly Americans are treating the incumbent president. Just consider the damage he has inflicted on the US economy with irrational tax-cuts and public spending: public deficit run at 4% and current account at 6% of GDP. Dollar has depreceated by 40% over last four years. And not to mention the trade-biasing steel tariffs and farming subsidies the president is so fond of. These figures are facts, not opinions. I don't claim that all the flaws in your economy are subject to Bush's policies, but they definitely play a major role.

The numbers shown here lead me to wonder on what ground the Joe-Sixpacs (the guys watching FoxNews) are making their decisions at the elections? Or do the national security play such an important role that it completely blinds from the economical factors? Or are the elections still largely determined by emotional issues; stem-cell research, abortion etc?

-TW

[Powerdoc]

The US electorate is bipolarized : pro Bush or Anti Bush.

You are wrong if you guess that only Six pack guys are voting for Bush : this is simplistic.

Bush supporters think that their president is a guy of conviction and strenght that is best suited to protect them and make USA great

Bush haters thinks otherwise like you (and me).

It's all that simple.
On a side note, the economic record of USA is not that bad. The only serious cons in economy, debt apart (something will need to be fixed in the future) is the unemployement rate.
Unfortunately, many european countries will love to have such bad resuts (in France the rate is 10 %).