Aides Say Bush Is Already Absorbed in 2004 Race

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/11/politics/campaigns/11BUSH.html

The official White House line, repeated once again by President Bush at a fund-raiser at a lush Palm Beach golf resort only on Thursday, is that "there's plenty of time for politics." In short, the message is that he is so focused on the business of running the nation that he has paid little attention to the details of his re-election campaign.

In reality, presidential advisers say, Mr. Bush is wholly absorbed by the race.

The president personally made the decision to hold the Republican National Convention in New York City, one adviser said. He talks daily to Karl Rove, his chief political aide, about the ups and downs of his Democratic competitors. He keeps a close eye on his fund-raising totals, which now amount to more than $130 million.

Other advisers say that Mr. Bush, who was deeply involved in his father's two presidential campaigns, is far more engaged at this point than his re-election staff likes to admit.

"It's not a matter of turning everything over to Karl," said one top adviser, who asked not to be named for fear of angering the White House. "Karl is brilliant, but in terms of political strategy, there's no question that the president is intimately engaged. When he comes into a state, he will know exactly what his numbers are, whether people think the country is moving in the right direction, what his approval rating is."

[coloradodem2005]

1. This is old news.

He has been absorbed in the 2004 race since 2000.

[kskiska]

2. Get this…

Meanwhile, the Bush-Cheney campaign headquarters, in a characterless office park just across the Potomac River in Arlington, Va., is humming like a model of corporate America. In contrast to the Dean headquarters in Burlington, Vt., there are no boxes of stale pizza, crumbled Diet Pepsi cans or volunteers in blue jeans on grungy sofas.

Instead, it feels a lot like the West Wing: fresh flowers, security checks, a big he-man photograph of Mr. Bush with day-old stubble at his Texas ranch, an army of well-dressed staff members. "Generally speaking, people conform to a certain sense of decorum," said Terry Holt, the campaign press secretary, who never wears jeans to the office. "In this campaign, you have a responsibility to represent the president of the United States, and even if it is a campaign, it's important to look that way."

[Shakespeare]

3. I'm so relieved he's not distracted by the whole running the country thing

Good God.

On the other hand, is it really possible for that incurious asshole to be absorbed by anything?

[0007]

4. ....only in himself!

[Sideways]

7. He Is Absorbed In Himself

Fuck him and his fucking brown shirts. They'll be history soon enough.

[Lisa]

5. isn't it funny that people are afraid of "angering the White House"

These are respected grown-ups -- and they're cowering like someone's going to give them the strap or something. Says a lot about Bush's management style.

[rfranklin]

10. Very typical of the "corporate" style...

If you ever come across people who work with CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, they fawn over these windbags as if they were the Emperor of Japan (when he was still a god.) It's pathetic. They're always walking on eggshells and worring about a misstep that might put them into disfavor.

[KissMyAsscroft]

6. Doesnt wanna be a one term loser like his daddy

too bad.

[Cooley Hurd]

24. Don't worry... he already has his chair reserved at...

...the One Term Presidents' Club. He'll be sitting in between his daddy and Gerald Ford (you see, Jimmy Carter has a chair there, but refuses to mingle with fascists).

[0007]

26. Yeah, Barbara would go stark raving insane if poopy and turd

were flushed down the toilet after one visit!

[readmylips]

8. da boosh never stopped campaigning since 2000....

He has two middle names, campaign and vacation.

[pinto]

9. Bush is obsessed with the Presidency, not the country...n/t

[MasonJar]

11. Do you suppose he could be absorbed up like

those paper towels absorb up spilled garbage and filth from the floor?

[Ilsa]

12. I don't think he's capable of being "intimately engaged"

in anything. I don't think he has the attention span for it.

[demgrrrll]

14. Has anyone read Bush's Brain? I can't bring myself to buy the book

although Rove and his campaign management are of interest to me.
People talk about his genius, but if we had an honest media he would never be where he is today. The one thing they must have is a compliant corporate media. They cannot survive without a lapdog press.
He is good at not losing control of what floats to the top in terms of information. I think they have a contingency plan and a diagram for going to the bathroom. Should be an interesting year.

[Gysgt213]

13. The NYT must be Bush's Press Headquarters

I have seen some kiss ass articles but this one takes the cake. For anybody to suggest that Bush knows what going on with his reelection is told bull. That man has the attention span of a two year old.

[Zhade]

18. Amen, and welcome to DU.

:hi:

[young_at_heart]

15. Add up the hours he has spent fund raising

Not only are the millions collected obscene, the large amount of time schmoozing at taxpayers' expense with his wealthy followers shows complete lack of integrity.

[moondust]

17. Add to that vacation time

and this clown is without question delinquent. What a pathetic waste!

[murielm99]

20. So...he is STILL

AWOL!

[PartyPooper]

16. Silly me! I always thought he was absorbed in his bottle of Jim Beam!

:beer:

[otohara]

19. Bush & Focused - Don't Make Me Laugh

"intimately engaged" "far more engaged" "kibitzes about the strengths and weaknesses of Howard Dean"

This statement is believable: wholly absorbed by the race

"When he comes into a state, he will know exactly what his numbers are, whether people think the country is moving in the right direction, what his approval rating is."

I do believe that dimson is able to comprehend poll numbers, and more poll numbers.

[Buns_of_Fire]

21. Looking for Mr. Feelgood

I can believe boosh is totally absorbed in his election campaign (as much as he is capable of being absorbed by anything, that is). He's slithering back to the center, he's tossed the obligatory bone ("We gonna go to MARS! Isn't that NEAT?") to the masses he screwed with his tax cuts, he's gonna WHUP some terraist ASS, he's gonna give everyone a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage...

Will people remember how he originally campaigned as a centrist before leaping to the Nutcase Right, how it's easy to propose grand things (like NCLB) without funding them, how you gotta FIND them terraists before you WHUP them (Yo, where's Osama?), that all meat products are becoming suspect, and that it's a little late to put a car in my garage since I lost the entire house?

Mr. Feelgood, go stuff it. I'd sooner hug a teddy bear with razor blades glued to it.

[truthisfreedom]

22. this may be a moment of calm and rationality for our country. disengaged

bush not screwing with everything and everyone, concentrating on revealing his true colors instead.

[Racenut20]

23. He says this because, with one policy statement, they charge the fund

raising trip to the Government as an official trip.

[Endangered Specie]

25. Absorbed...

By $2000 dinner guests

[DemonFighterLives]

27. The coat and tie silver spoon schmuck club

These guys are looking over their shoulders to see if the emperor cometh so they can look their best and have their cleanest underwear on. Reminds me of the military. Spend 6 months getting ready for a General Inspection. No one cares if the equipment works, just give it a fresh paintjob and spit shine those shoes. Socks and underwear must be folded and displayed correctly. Kind of fits with the All Hat No Cattle administration.