Two days after telling his CNN audience "the country has just gone through a failed marriage with the current president," Schneider said Friday, "As President Bush prepares to leave office, the American public has a parting thought: good riddance."
Despite what the public might think, do today's so-called journalists possess no respect for the office of the presidency? Or is it impossible for them to muster such when the man in the White House is a Republican?
Regardless of the answers, the following report is something more deserving of MSNBC, and Schneider should be ashamed of himself (video embedded below the fold with transcript, h/t NBer Rush Fan):
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: (voice-over): As President Bush prepares to leave office, the American public has a parting thought: good riddance. At least that's the way three-quarters feel. Fewer than a quarter say they'll miss President Bush.
It's been like a failed marriage. Things started out well. When President Bush first took office, more than 60 percent saw him as strong and decisive. That impression was reinforced after 9/11.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
SCHNEIDER: The public still saw Bush as strong and decisive when he took office a second time in 2005. No more.
The public's confidence in this president has dropped dramatically, especially over the past two years. President Bush did once have a reputation as a good manager. Then came Hurricane Katrina.
BUSH: And Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.
SCHNEIDER: And Bush's reputation as a manager got blown away.
Mr. Bush got elected on a promise.
BUSH: I think people look for someone who is a uniter, not a divider.
SCHNEIDER: But the vast majority of Americans believe he betrayed that promise. He took a country that was divided under President Clinton and he divided it worse. Even some conservatives feel betrayed.
PAT ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: I think we've had some goofs along the way. The Katrina matter was terrible. The rebuilding of Iraq has been terrible. The hailing of the economy right now has been terrible.
SCHNEIDER: Fewer than a third of Americans believe George W. Bush will go down in history as a good president. Forty percent say he left a poor legacy. Another 28 percent called Bush the worst president in American history.
(on camera): President Bush's job approval rating has been at or below freezing since the beginning of the year. Where does it stand now? Twenty-seven percent, one of the lowest ratings for any president ever.
You should be ashamed of yourself, Bill.
Regardless of the data, decency dictates you at least try to present it in a respectful fashion. Not doing so is demeaning to yourself, your network, and your industry.
