When Bill Clinton was president, White House aides had a policy: when there was political trouble, and public support was on the wane, put the boss in front of people. Schedule a speech in front of a large audience; arrange for some high-profile television interviews, put together some kind of major White House event, etc. Clinton aides knew that the solution to most problems was letting Clinton talk to Americans.
Invariably, the strategy worked. As it turns out, the Bush White House has embraced the exact same approach. Unfortunately for the Bush gang, it’s not nearly as effective.
Democrats appear to be standing on firm political ground, as they work toward a final bill. A Washington Post-ABC News poll of 1,141 adults, conducted April 12-15, found that 58 percent trusted the Democrats in Congress to do a better job handling the situation in Iraq, compared with 33 percent who trusted Bush.
The president has taken advantage of Congress’s spring recess to pound Democrats over their legislation, which would impose benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet; create strict rules for resting, equipping and training combat troops; and set a 2008 date for the final withdrawal of U.S. troops. Despite those efforts, Bush has lost a little ground to Democrats, who in February were trusted by 54 percent to set Iraq policy. […]
Bush continued yesterday to say that victory in Iraq is pivotal to the larger fight against terrorism, but Americans are increasingly agreeing with the Democratic view that the issues are separate. About 57 percent now say the United States can succeed in the terrorism fight without winning the Iraq war, an increase of 10 percentage points since January, when Americans were almost evenly divided on the question.
The number of Americans who favor withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq, even if that means civil order is not restored, held steady from February at 56 percent.
Consider the context for these poll results. For the last several weeks, Bush, Cheney, and the rest of the gang have been hammering Dems relentlessly, insisting that they’re endangering the troops and pursuing an irresponsible foreign policy. Administration officials have fanned out across the media to drive the argument home.
And against this backdrop, Americans have heard Bush’s pitch and said, “We don’t believe you.”
In other words, the White House strategy has largely backfired. The idea was to let Americans hear from their president directly, and let him persuade the electorate to his way of thinking. But after weeks of a p.r. offensive, we’re just not buying what the White House is selling.
As Kevin Drum put it, “This reminds me of the Social Security fiasco: every time Bush opened his mouth on the subject, polls moved in the opposite direction. Now the same thing is happening with Iraq. If he had any brains, he’d just shut up and try to ride it out. His mouth is his own worst enemy.”
It amazes me that, after all this time, White House officials still don’t appreciate just how unpopular Bush really is. Putting an inarticulate president in front of the cameras, encouraging him to bash the hell out of his more popular rivals, just doesn’t work. The more the electorate sees of him, the more voters reject what he has to say.
Indeed, look at the some of these results from the Post/ABC poll.
* After weeks of relentless criticism, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s approval rating is up to 53%, a point Newt Gingrich never reached.
* Congress’ approval rating is at a four-year high.
* 54% of Americans approve of the way Democrats in Congress are doing their job (the highest in over a decade). Only 39% say they approve of congressional Republicans.
* 58% believe Dems in Congress are taking a stronger leadership role in the government than Bush.
The more the Bush gang condemn congressional Democrats, question their patriotism, and denounce their policies, the stronger Dems become.
If we’re really lucky, the president will hammer Dems every day for the indefinite future.