Where Has The Cowboy Gone?
Earlier this week CBS News released some abysmally low approval poll numbers for President Bush. Many, including myself, pointed out the fact that this poll was so heavily weighted with Democrats as to render the results meaningless. Another poll is out today, however, and while the numbers aren't as awful as those in the CBS poll, they're still pretty bad. I think some on the right tend to get distracted from just how poorly Bush is polling with Americans by the constant onslaught of falsely negative (and some times even totally combative) reporting from the media and the slew of heavily distorted polls being trumpeted by the same.
But all concerns over media bias and polling practices aside, there is no denying that Bush is having problems. That he needs to address these problems is certain. That he isn't doing more to address them is baffling.
There is little doubt that many of Bush's problems stem from the fact that he has not followed through on some of the campaign promises he made to his conservative base. Tax and social security reforms seem to be on permanent delay and the President has refused to use his veto to stem any of the exorbitant spending passed by Congress of late (and has even proposed some of it himself). But in addition to that I think many conservatives have been frustrated with what seems to be a general listlessness within the Bush administration. Day after day the media blasts away with reporting that largely misrepresents what is actually going on, and the left never fails to capitalize on it. Yet the administration almost never responds. Every few months it seems like they'll mount a serious rebuttal, but that's just not enough. The administration's public relations response to to the constant swarm of negativity aimed at them has been lackluster, at best, and that lack of any substantial response is making the administration look guilty of many of the things they're being accused of by default.
In the last week the media has hyped three major stories, all negative for the Bush administration. Within the same week all three of those stories flopped, and flopped badly. Yet where is the administration response to all this? It seems non-existent, leaving the media/left to move on to the next trumped-up "controversy" with little or no consequences.
Bush needs to fire back. He needs to get on offense and stay on offense. At this point, given that he can't run for re-election again, he has nothing to lose. His poll numbers could conceivably get worse, but not much. And what do they matter now anyway during his last term? He needs to vocally oppose his critics and come out strong in favor of the initiatives he still wants to push through while in office.
I want him to denounce the Muslims protesting against the Mohammed cartoons as well as their apologists. I want another Reaganesque "axis of evil" speech denouncing Syria and Iran for trying to wreck what we've built in Iraq.
After 9/11, President Bush was an anti-terror warrior. Where has all that gone? He seems to be losing momentum on his strongest issue.
Let Bush get up on the bully pulpit again and remind this world that regardless of what they think of America, we are the strongest force for freedom, liberty and democracy in the world right now. Nobody has done more than we have in recent years to end suffering and free people from oppression.
I want the cowboy back. I want swagger and confidence. I want the world, and America, to know that this country is being led by a person who stands by his principles and has the courage of his convictions.
Because lately, I don't think they've been getting that message.
But all concerns over media bias and polling practices aside, there is no denying that Bush is having problems. That he needs to address these problems is certain. That he isn't doing more to address them is baffling.
There is little doubt that many of Bush's problems stem from the fact that he has not followed through on some of the campaign promises he made to his conservative base. Tax and social security reforms seem to be on permanent delay and the President has refused to use his veto to stem any of the exorbitant spending passed by Congress of late (and has even proposed some of it himself). But in addition to that I think many conservatives have been frustrated with what seems to be a general listlessness within the Bush administration. Day after day the media blasts away with reporting that largely misrepresents what is actually going on, and the left never fails to capitalize on it. Yet the administration almost never responds. Every few months it seems like they'll mount a serious rebuttal, but that's just not enough. The administration's public relations response to to the constant swarm of negativity aimed at them has been lackluster, at best, and that lack of any substantial response is making the administration look guilty of many of the things they're being accused of by default.
In the last week the media has hyped three major stories, all negative for the Bush administration. Within the same week all three of those stories flopped, and flopped badly. Yet where is the administration response to all this? It seems non-existent, leaving the media/left to move on to the next trumped-up "controversy" with little or no consequences.
Bush needs to fire back. He needs to get on offense and stay on offense. At this point, given that he can't run for re-election again, he has nothing to lose. His poll numbers could conceivably get worse, but not much. And what do they matter now anyway during his last term? He needs to vocally oppose his critics and come out strong in favor of the initiatives he still wants to push through while in office.
I want him to denounce the Muslims protesting against the Mohammed cartoons as well as their apologists. I want another Reaganesque "axis of evil" speech denouncing Syria and Iran for trying to wreck what we've built in Iraq.
After 9/11, President Bush was an anti-terror warrior. Where has all that gone? He seems to be losing momentum on his strongest issue.
Let Bush get up on the bully pulpit again and remind this world that regardless of what they think of America, we are the strongest force for freedom, liberty and democracy in the world right now. Nobody has done more than we have in recent years to end suffering and free people from oppression.
I want the cowboy back. I want swagger and confidence. I want the world, and America, to know that this country is being led by a person who stands by his principles and has the courage of his convictions.
Because lately, I don't think they've been getting that message.
