Some days the sun comes up over Lake Champlain, and it’s gorgeous and all, but you just can’t get geared up for life in twenty-first-century America. You’re prickly, and disaffected, and you couldn’t say why.

Alito and Roberts tag-teaming the Clean Water Act? Bush and Cheney conspiring to quash the charges against Scooter Libby? Who knows, but those days the sun always looks ready to set somehow, no matter the hour.

And then there are those days when you pick up the morning papers, and find that Bush’s numbers have moved significantly — straight down. Way down. Like, from the mere bowl of the toilet, down through the fixture gasket and the floor flange, and finally itself.

Those days the sun doesn’t just rise — it executes a plié.

The latest digits from CBS:

“Bush’s overall job rating has tumbled, too, to an all-time low in this poll. It is now 34%, down from 42% last month. 59% disapprove. The previous low came last October, one month after Hurricane Katrina, shortly after the withdrawal of Harriet Miers from a Supreme Court nomination and just after U.S. deaths in Iraq reached the 2,000 mark. Not since November 2004 has a majority approved of the President’s overall performance.”

And of course, there’s this numerical ice-pick in the heart of Bush’s signature issue: “Ratings for the President’s handling of the Iraq war have also plummeted, to their all-time low of 30%.”

A solid foundation on which to build a wonderful day.

But wait. How much would you pay for even worse numbers? Don’t answer yet! Nicholas Kristoff (Times Select) breaks a new Zogby poll of troops serving in Iraq:

“The poll is the first of U.S. troops currently serving in Iraq, according to John Zogby, the pollster. Conducted by Zogby International and LeMoyne College, it asked 944 service members, ‘How long should U.S. troops stay in Iraq?’

“Only 23 percent backed Mr. Bush’s position that they should stay as long as necessary. In contrast, 72 percent said that U.S. troops should be pulled out within one year. Of those, 29 percent said they should withdraw ‘immediately.’”

In other words, nearly 30% of American combat troops favor cutting and running immediately, while nearly ¾ favor giving aid and comfort to the enemy by setting up a timetable for withdrawal.

And they laughed at our man Murtha.

So let’s summarize: George W. Bush lost favorable opinion in the world long ago — even England now calls Guantanamo a human rights nightmare. Bush never had Democrats. He has now lost Independents, and a good slice of his base. He has clearly squandered even the reflexive support drilled into soldiers from the moment they put on the uniform.

All Bush has left now are his hard-core Kool-aid-drinking crazies. And let’s face it: this Dubai Ports deal has even the Kool-Aid types starting to dodge their Dixie cups.

Now, look, VDB has a strict policy of following bad Bush poll numbers with the lyrics from the Sponge Bob Square Pants theme song. It’s not that we enjoy posting the lyrics necessarily; we feel it’s our duty as God-fearing Americans.

But these aren’t just bad poll numbers. These digits are utterly horrific for Bush, and for election-year Republicans, and frankly they deserve more than just lyrics.

So we’ve gone the extra mile. Here’s a rare Sponge Bob audio clip — the dance remix, no less. No expense has been spared.

Work out, people. You deserve it today.

Especially you, Rick Barba, eating your toast in the Colorado sun and plotting the Democratic renaissance.