The Tribune reports this morning that President Bush's polling numbers in Illinois are down to 33 percent. More surprisingly ...

Support for Bush has dropped 14 points in the last year among Republicans, and GOP officials fear that could complicate their efforts in next year's races for Congress and governor. For the first time in his presidency, half the voters in Chicago's Republican-rich collar counties disapprove of Bush's job performance, a departure from last fall when he carried all five suburban counties. ...

... In addition to Bush's low standing among voters in the collar counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will, 54 percent of voters Downstate now say they disapprove of his performance. Downstate voters generally are more conservative and have in the past been more supportive of Bush. But his disapproval rating among those voters has climbed 12 percentage points since May.

Majority disapproval of Bush in the suburbs and downstate is not good footing for Republicans aiming to take back state positions. It actually makes Jakobsson's forum on Social Security look like a wise political move. Keep the emphasis on misguided Republican policies, keep them making up irrational justifications for policies no one wants. It continues to expose the ignorance that lies behind so many Republican ideas.

All we have heard for years now is justification after justification for policies that don't make sense. Cut taxes for the rich? Why? Well, we don't understand - really it is helping poor people. Right. Attack Iraq? Why? They have WMD, they could have made WMD, we need a democracy in the Middle East. Right. etc. etc. etc...

It seems the country is finally waking up from these delusions. Unfortunately we have three more years of this foolishness in Washington. Luckily, we have statewide elections in about a year.