Billmon: Base Emotions

A new poll from Rasmussen Reports puts at least a little factual flesh on the bones of my theory that Bush's rhetorical embrace of bleeding heart conservatism isn't going to go down well with a sizable chunk of the conservative base.

The poll, taken immediately after Shrub's New Orleans speech, shows that approval of his handling of the disaster actually fell after the sound and light show in Jackson Square:

The latest Rasmussen Reports survey shows that 41% give the President poor marks for handling the crisis, that's up 37% before the speech.

And the erosion appears to have been primarily among Republicans -- 63% of whom gave Shrub a grade of good or excellent, down from 71% before the speech.