When the GOP and Glenn Beck see these numbers, they will come to only one conclusion: More Tea Parties!

Speaking for myself, I have faith in Obama and Pelosi; Reid is another story.

Irregardless, these poll results are good news.

This just shows how happy people are to have somebody in the White House who is willing to work hard and do the right thing, rather than a lazy crony working for the rich. What low expectations W set.

These poll numbers have been artificially inflated by agents of the Obama regime's liberal/fascist/communist/anarchist secret police in an effort to dupe the God Fearing American public into accepting a one world government run by FEMA and the UN.

It's amazing more people don't realize this. Jeez.

What of it? Unless I'm mistaken, Bush's popularity had not yet slipped when massive crowds protested the invasion of Iraq. Am I mistaken?

And you'll have to pardon my comparison of the anti-war protests with the "tea parties."

Isn't it a bit early? The darling couple Barry & Nan aren't even back from their honeymoon, and hyperinflation hasn't started, though I must admit I was shocked at some of the food prices I've seen lately. Double what I'm used to.

The tea party folks are a bit misguided. The American people will just be able to scrounge up enough taxes to pay the interest on the national debt, so it will be inflated dollars that pay for Dem spending.

As a longtime tea drinker, I want to know this: What do right-wing punks have against our beverage?

Quick, more $500 a plate fundraisers!

38% support no-numbers budgets, one-world conspiracy theories and resistance-for-resistance's-sake?

Scary country you got there.

They're the GOP, they should use Earl Grey, since they're such authorities on how to kow-tow to the Queen of the British Empire.

That will help.

You people simply do not understand the tea party movement. It is as big a threat to Republicans as to Obama and the left. Go on with your fantasies of Fox News sponsorship but the people who are protesting could care less about your theories. Maybe when blue dog Democrats start joining, you'll pay more attention.

Excuse me Mike. I look at paying taxes as patriotic. I also look at the wealthy paying their fair share as both righteous and patriotic. Funny how the tea bagger sponsors are in that 1% category. Their dupes aren't though. They just want something for nothing, like every sap who has ever tried to find the pea under the fast-moving Shell. That's a great name for an Oil Company and Tax evasion scheme . . .

The TEA party is really the NRA--Not Responsible Adults.

Unless I'm mistaken, Bush's popularity had not yet slipped when massive crowds protested the invasion of Iraq. Am I mistaken?

I think you may be mistaken. Don't forget, prior to the invasion, over 60% of Americans thought there was evidence that Saddam was responsible for 9/11, which was the main reason for the war's support. Support dropped off a cliff once the truth came out.

the 57% confidence rating Republicans give the Republican leaders in Congress.

I fear that reflects the primary voters and major and minor donors. The anti-abortion die-hards and those who supported the Republican intervention in the Schiavo ordeal, and the sort who blame every market failure on government policy. I know plenty of Republicans who are distraught over the current Republican leadership, but this "plenty" is a minority in the primaries.

I also look at the wealthy paying their fair share as both righteous and patriotic.

The share of total taxes that come from the upper 1% is greater than the total wealth that is owned by the upper 1%. How much of their money are the rest of us entitled to take and spend before we call it "fair"?

Paying taxes may be "patriotic", but resistance to more taxes is what got us independent of Great Britain. It also is "partiotic".

I really wish that our side would get the talking points right, and make sure that they are repeated often and everywhere...

- *We* didn't deregulate the "Financial Services" industry and look the other way while greedy financial "professionals" crashed the world economy.

- *We* didn't transfer $5 Trillion of your future public treasury to defense contractors, oil companies, and the super wealthy over the last seven years.

- Speaking of "Tax and Spend": *We* are simply paying the bills. Every time the Republicans gain power, the *Borrow* and spend like a rabbit in heat, and *we* get left to clean up their messes after you kick them out. *You* have to pay *their* bills. When will you learn?

- *We* left you with a budget surplus the last time that we were in power.

Any others?

Paying taxes may be "patriotic", but resistance to more taxes is what got us independent of Great Britain. It also is "partiotic".

Leaving aside the faulty logic in this sentence, I think "partiotic" should be a new word, meaning the Republican version of "patriotic."

Also, it is perfectly reasonable for the proportion of taxes paid by top 1% to be greater than their proportion of the taxable wealth. All it means is that the taxes are higher for the top 1% than the bottom 99%. For example, if the top 1% own 20% of the wealth and there is a flat tax on all types of wealth, then they would account for 20% of the taxes, but if the rate is higher for the top 1% then they would account for more than 20%. Since we have a progressive tax system (which, in broad terms, is generally accepted as both just and economically necessary), one would expect the wealthy to provide a disproportionately high amount of the government's tax revenue.

Opposing Britain was patriotic.. for nascent Americans.

Opposing America would be patriotic for some future country that springs out of America.

Saying opposing America means you're a patriotic American would be like saying the revolutionaries were patriotic Brits.

Saying opposing America means you're a patriotic American would be like saying the revolutionaries were patriotic Brits.

Well, to be fair, there is something of an analogy there. Many, probably most, of the revolutionaries saw themselves as true to British ideals and norms of the relationship of the government to its people which were being betrayed, both in general and particularly in regard to the Colonies, by the contemporary British government, and saw their protests prior to the outbreak of actual revolution as directed at correcting the behavior of the British government and realigning it with those traditional principles. This certainly can be viewed as consistent with patriotism right up until the point at which the effort to reform the mother country is abandoned with an effort to separate from it.

Similarly, I suspect that the tea party participants see themselves as true to traditional American ideals that they feel are being betrayed by the present American government, and see their protests being directed at reforming the behavior of the American government. (Note that I am not, here, commenting on the substance of their complaints, or whether they actually do reflect "traditional American ideals".)

Mnem: "I think you may be mistaken."

Now that you looked it up, it appears my recollection was correct. As the CBS link shows, Bush's popularity was high as of May 2003 (after "Mission Accomplished"). Of course, where was the popularity in Feb/March 2003, when the protests tried to stop the invasion?