According to the latest NBC poll, George Bush’s approval rating is now 29%. And only 19% believe the country is on the right track.

Those numbers are upsettingly high, aren’t they?

Presumably, that second group of folks is a subset of the first, right? I don’t imagine a lot of people who don’t approve of the President’s job think we’re “on the right track” as a nation. As for the 10% who don’t believe the country’s headed in the right direction but do approve of the job that President Bush is doing… they’re the truly scary people, the ones who think the End Times could quite possibly arrive before the next Sunday Times. [To me, that’s a mixed blessing. You get the Messiah, yes, but the crossword puzzle isn’t nearly as good.] They’re the people with the angry, barky dogs and the “No Trespassing” signs and the private arsenal and the devout hope that God will get you “sorted out” before they themselves are forced to….

That’s fine. Those guys don’t scare me so much. It’s that other 19% I’m worried about.

Think about them. Nearly one in five people. One in five. In this survey of 1000+, that’s 190+ individuals. Those people think Georgie’s doin’ a heckuva job and the country’s on the right track. That number is not “covered” by the margin of error. Those people exist. One in five. The mind boggles, because these people, I want to point out, believe a country which has turned completely against the President (who’s doing a great job) is headed in the right direction…. One in five.

You have to blame Zoloft for some of that, right? What’s the percentage of people in this country who are on really good antidepressants, and how many of them have really lost their judgment-making-thingie? [Some ethicists refer to it as a “judgment-making-doohickey,” but I’m old-fashioned.] And how many of those 19% are just angry enough at the country and the world and the pollster calling them that they’re saying everything’s going great out of sheer bullheaded obstinacy? How many of those were just completely insane, the kind of people who had to put down their pudding cups and crayons and pick up their “Hello Kitty” phones to talk to the “tiny men” inside? And how many really didn’t understand the question?

All together, I’d say that the above might account for a quarter of that 19%. At most.

That would still leave more than one in ten. Fifteen in a hundred. Sane, competent, sincere individuals who believe the President is doing a great job and that the country (which, again, by and large strongly disagrees about the President) is headed in the right direction. No matter how you slice, WAY more than one in ten of you fit that description.

I would like to meet you. Because - clearly - I don’t get it. The Comments below await you.