The San Fran Chronicle takes up the “Bush Hatred” idea.

Bush has also driven many detractors to the brink of rage, where the very sound of his voice or the sight of his face on television prompts an intense, gut-level reaction.

“There are occasionally politicians who are galling to a certain segment of the public,” said Loyola Marymount Professor Michael Genovese, co-author of “Polls and Politics: The Dilemmas of Democracy.”

“There is something about their personality, their style, their approach and what they are that brings out contempt in their opponents,” Genovese said. “And more than any politician in my lifetime, George Bush elicits that sort of emotion in Democrats.”

[snip]

“Bush hatred is a driving force, if not the driving force, of this election,” said Jonathan Chait, an editor for the left-leaning New Republic, who wrote a story a year ago titled “Mad About You: The Case for Bush Hatred.” The cover story criticized not only what Bush stood for, but how he talks, how he walks and even the jokes he tells.

Look. I could care less whether George Bush or for that matter John Kerry is, deep down, a decent human being with a heart of gold who is right with God and Buddha. It’s not Bush’s hair that bugs me, it’s not his speaking voice or even his DUI arrests, and it’s not the fact that he’s a Republican and I’m a registered Democrat.

We elect a president to do things, and we judge him based on what he does.

This is what George W. Bush has done:

Funke was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif. After graduating from Heritage High School in 2003, he became a Marine and was sent to Iraq this winter.

��� Funke was on the wrestling team for one season. Donnie McPherson was his coach. While Funke was not the most experienced athlete, he showed up for practice regularly and worked hard. McPherson also recalled Funke’s enthusiasm for the military.

��� “He was just really excited about serving his country,” he said.

��� Funke’s aunt, Kathy Funke, told the Associated Press that Kane Funke expected to come home for a visit in two weeks.

��� “Now he’s coming back, but not the way we wanted him to,” she said.

A.