It’s tempting to think that the president is capable of learning from his mistakes. One wants to believe that Bush has seen his political fortunes deteriorate and is aware of some of the missteps that have led to his decline.
But even now, after about five years in office, Bush hasn’t changed a bit.
Even as his poll numbers tank, however, Bush is described by aides as still determined to stay the course. He resists advice from Republicans who fear disaster in next year’s congressional elections, and rejects criticism from a media establishment he disdains.
“The President has always been willing to make changes,” the senior aide said, “but not because someone in this town tells him to — NEVER!”
For the moment, Bush has dismissed discreetly offered advice from friends and loyalists to fire Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and bring back longtime confidant Karen Hughes from the State Department to shore up his personal White House staff.
“He thinks that would be an admission he’s screwed up, and he can’t bring himself to do that,” a former senior staffer lamented.
No, of course not. That would take some courage and conviction. For a man with an overabundance of self-confidence, Bush sure seems preoccupied with avoiding the appearance of having made a mistake. If that means keeping incompetent individuals in key government posts, so be it. If it means remaining oblivious to the political landscape, it’s a price they’re willing to pay.
A card-carrying member of the Washington GOP establishment with close ties to the White House recently encountered several senior presidential aides at a dinner and came away shaking his head at their “no problems here” mentality.
“There is just no introspection there at all,” he said in exasperation. “It is everybody else’s fault — the press, gutless Republicans on the Hill. They’re still in denial.”
The New York Daily News’ Thomas DeFrank, who enjoys stellar WH connections, added that paranoia seems to be setting in a bit in the West Wing.
Two sources said Bush has not only lost some confidence in his top aides, as the Daily News has previously reported, but is furious with a stream of leaks about the mood within the West Wing.
“He’s asking [friends] for opinions on who he can trust and who he can’t,” one knowledgeable source said.
Didn’t Nixon follow a similar path? A senior Bush aide told the Daily News that “it’s up to the President to turn things around now.” That’s not an encouraging sign.