For years, President Bush and his advisers expressed frustration that the White House received little credit for the nation's strong economic performance because of public discontent about the Iraq war. Today, the president is getting little credit for improved security in Iraq, as the public increasingly focuses on a struggling U.S. economy.
That is the problem Bush faces as he prepares to deliver his seventh and probably final State of the Union address tonight. For the first time in four years, he will come before Congress able to report some progress in tamping down violence in Iraq. Yet the public appears to have moved on from the war -- and possibly from Bush himself.
The economy has supplanted Iraq as the top public concern, and with voters shifting their focus toward the presidential primaries, Bush faces a steep challenge in persuading Americans to heed his words on the war, economic policy or any other issue, according to administration officials, lawmakers and outside observers.
"Very large segments of the American people have written him off already and have moved on to the next chapter," said Jeremy Rosner, a Clinton White House aide and Democratic pollster. Even some of the Republican presidential candidates appear eager to distance themselves from the president.
The American people have pretty much written George W. Bush's presidency off now. They are more interested in learning what the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates will say, and what they will do, if they are elected into the White House. Congress will not enact any major Bush legislation during this presidential election year--the $600 tax rebate stimulus package is more of an actual bipartisan measure between Congress and the White House. And President Bush's poll numbers are still in the toilet. According to the WaPost story:
The scope of Bush's challenge was underscored by a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, conducted Jan. 9 to 12, which showed that the economy has overtaken the war as the key worry for voters and that Bush is receiving no credit for improving conditions in Iraq. According to the poll, 29 percent of voters now see the economy as the top issue in the 2008 elections, compared with 20 percent who cite Iraq.
Bush's overall approval rating was 32 percent, his lowest ever, with 30 percent of the public approving of his handling of Iraq. His handling of the economy rated even worse, with 28 percent approval compared with 41 percent a year ago.
What can we expect from this last Bush "State of the Union" speech? I'm expecting more PR-crap from this administration--the economy is still strong, and will continue to be strong if Congress passes the stimulus package and makes the Bush tax cuts permanent. The Iraq is going well--stay the course with the war. We should continue the illegal domestic spying program because the terrorists are still out there, and still want to kill us. Continue the "faith-based" religious social programs. Continue the same failed Bush policies that have gotten this country into trouble in the first place. But the real PR-spinning message in this last Bush address will be how President Bush has stood up among the ruins of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and have faced the evil Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, stopping them in Iraq and Afghanistan. This State of the Union speech will be about cementing Bush's legacy as the Great Protector against the al Qaeda Terrorists, and will subtly ask the incoming 2009 president will continue the unending Iraq war for infinity.
More to come when Bush opens his mouth tonight.
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