We had fun here, back in the day, as W's approval numbers dropped into the 20s. The 20s! Amazing! How did that happen to Commander Codpiece?
That's a rhetorical question. I'm not looking for answer. The basic truth is he was never especially popular aside from the extended post 9-11 bounce. The Kerry campaign was pretty shitty, and Kerry still almost won, despite the continued media adulation of W. and the absolutely insane media coverage of Kerry (who did not deserve that, even if the campaign was shitty).
W.'s falling popularity was largely unacknowledged. David "dines on quayle with Karl Rove" Broder was writing Comeback Kid pieces as W. hit the Keyes Constant of Republican (un)popularity.
An entire generation of the political press hitched their wagons to W.'s fortune, and, especially with the added 9-11 effect, really embraced the idea that "we" (they and W.) were all in it together.
"Liberal" pundits wrote books like this:
