A kinder, gentler Bush

January 9, 2006

The White House is subtly suggesting that Bush is prepared to turn over a new leaf — by embracing the same phony, cynical masquerade used in the 2000 campaign.

Climbing his way out of low public ratings and facing a bruising battle to maintain Republican control of Congress, President Bush is seeking to resurrect his early reputation as a compassionate conservative who reaches across the aisle, according to officials close to the White House. […]

”He’s made a commitment to have this ongoing dialogue with Democrats and Republicans,” said White House communications director Nicolle Wallace. ”It’s a sustained effort.”

But critics who remember Bush’s days on the 2000 campaign trail, presenting himself as a compassionate conservative, only to govern as a pure conservative, view the president’s latest overtures with suspicion.

”I view this not as a serious engagement with Congress in the hopes of passing legislation but as part of a public relations strategy to improve his standing and minimize damage in the November election,” said Brookings Institution political analyst Thomas E. Mann. […] ”The soft rhetoric of compassionate conservatism sits better with ordinary citizens than the big changes he wants,” said Mann.

Aren’t we a little past this by now? I can appreciate the fact that Rove & Co. are probably a little short on new ideas, but will anyone buy the “compassionate conservative” line again?

It only requires one word to smack silliness to the ground: Katrina

  • People will buy anything, particularly if they want to believe him. The only possible good thing is that in 2000 nobody knew him and he had no record apart from a short run as TX gov. Now the media and the WH press corps are finally starting to hold him accountable. It may not work so well this time around.

    Maybe he is just positioning himself incase the ’06 elections and assorted scandals leave the Rep Congress in shambles. Maybe he is supporting a change in Congressional leadership. Maybe he is just really desperate.

  • Well, he’s got the debt-inducing trillion-dollar infrastructure “plan” ala Arnie. Too bad it’s in Iraq.

  • You guys are far too optimistic in my opinion. Most 5 year olds have a longer attention span than the public does when it comes to politics. So in the grand scheme of things my belief is that this new, cough cough, strategy will most likely work.

  • marcus,

    I think you’re probably right. The strategy won’t get his support up to the 60% – 70% range, but it will certainly improve it over where it is. There are plenty of people who are wishy-washy right now and respond to polls with lack of support for the administration. They’ll hear about various “compassionate” initiatives or concepts and decide they like what’s going on after all. or that “now Bush is back on the right track”

    – Danny

  • Call me Pollyanna, but it does seem that the press has grown a tad more skeptical of the Imperial pRez – perhaps at long last sick of having their chains jerked??? Some are downright feisty – well, David Gregory is, anyway. I think that will make a big difference in how accepting the public is of Bush’s “new” strategy.

    By the way, when is MSNBC going to replace that bloviating kissass Matthews with Gregory?? Enquiring minds want to know.

  • Out here in the heart of Bush country, I’d say some people are just tired of this government and others are skeptical of the kind of side-stepping the WH is doing to avoid the main issues. There will always be deadhead Bush supporters (who don’t give that much of a damn about Bush but hate the very sight of a librul). But the fact that the media are slowing cracking open is making a difference. They just don’t think Bush is as criminal as we do. They want to see him disappear, not get hung.

    What’s troubling is the support here for the strong Executive (shit-scary, that issue) which is exacerbated by the general lack of respect for Congress… which, in turn, is bound to get worse as the full extent ($$$$) of the lobbying scandal hits home.

  • Will anyone believe it?

    You bet. There’s a whole bunch of folk out there who want to love this president.

    Democrats and Bush critics will have to step up and endlessly repeat what form this compassion takes:

    The incomprehensible precription drug benefit which is making life even more miserable for low income seniors. And reiterate that this policy was put in place to pre-empt the democratic plan of drug reimportation, which was popular with not just seniors, but many, many others. And that the vote was held open for hours while Delay et al blackmailed house members on the floor.

    There are enough people still alive who remember the deficit hawk rhetoric of the Reagan Administration and what a farce that was. Democrats can educate voters on how much we borrow everyday and how much interest on the debt we pay everyday to pay for this presidents tax cuts, the Iraq War, and Hallibuton looting.

    Student loans, medicaid, and many other attacks on the poor. The Energy Bill, the bankruptcy bill,

    And the absolute roadblock; Bush stands in the way of stem cell research, and honest debate on Iraq war policy, climate change, sensible trade policy, and AIDS relief.

    Yeah, Bush will probably raise his approval 4 or 5 points with a sustained, concerted campaign.

  • I think you have to ignore the entire article based on this single quote:

    “…only to govern as a pure conservative…”

    Bush in no way has governed like a pure conservative. He is in many ways the antithesis of conservatism, as conservatives like Bill Buckley and Charles Grassley could attest and have attested. I’m all for speculative writing, but when the author demonstrates a complete failure to grasp context or the facts, I think you have to move on.

  • That lame mass meeting of formers Secretaries of State and Defense at the White House recently which was billed as a strategy session but was really only a photo op for King George didn’t really do much for his ratings that I know of, mostly because the press quickly reported it for what it was.

    The reason all of Bush’s ploys worked so well in 2000 was that nobody had seen them before, as MNP pointed out above. Now everybody knows the drill and the same tactics will probably/hopefully get no more than a bored shrug from a growing portion of the electorate.

    They need to start asking themselves, “Is this all he’s got??” And I hope they will.

  • Are he and his zombies so deluded that they think people won’t see right through this or are they so cynical that they know people will see this for what it is and do it anyway so they can look good.

  • For the most part, I thought the largest piece of Bush’s remaining support came in the form of hard-right conservatives.

    Won’t returning to the days of “compassionate conservative” actually turn away many of his 40% favorable block?

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