Bush White House and GOP Show Signs Of Cluelessness and Disarray

[Gloria]

The comments at the blog in response to this piece are well worth reading. I liked the one that suggested the Dems should be ATTACKING all the time to offset the bi-weekly diversions from Rove....


http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/004512.php

Tuesday :: May 31, 2005
Bush White House and GOP Show Signs Of Cluelessness and Disarray

"There is a growing sense of frustration with the president and the White House, quite frankly…The term I hear most often is 'tin ear,' " especially when it comes to pushing Social Security so aggressively at a time when the public is worried more about jobs and gasoline prices. "We could not have a worse message at a worse time."
--An influential Republican member of Congress, quoted anonymously by the Post

Even though Matt Drudge wants to spend the next several days making a big deal over two pieces in the Washington Post on the Clintons that are designed to help sell the book by Post reporter John Harris on Clinton’s presidency, another Post story may get some more legitimate attention. In Tuesday’s Post, Peter Baker and Jim VandeHei run a story whose theme is that Bush has already wasted his second term political capital. The story has some mind-numbing observations and some money quotes, like the one above.

"He has really burned up whatever mandate he had from that last election," said Leon E. Panetta, who served as White House chief of staff during President Bill Clinton's second term. "You can't slam-dunk issues in Washington. You can't just say, 'This is what I want done' and by mandate get it done. It's a lesson everybody has to learn, and sometimes you learn it the hard way."

Through more than four years in the White House, the signature of Bush's leadership has been that he does not panic in the face of bad poll numbers. Yet many Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the lobbyist corridor of K Street worry about a season of drift and complain that the White House has not listened to their concerns. In recent meetings, House Republicans have discussed putting more pressure on the White House to move beyond Social Security and talk up different issues, such as health care and tax reform, according to Republican officials who asked not to be named to avoid angering Bush's team.

So what do the GOP heavy thinkers recommend that Bush do to reverse his fortunes? Check out these winners and then realize that the GOP is grossly overrated.

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[Clark2008]

1. I have to say that when I read your headline, I thought, "Well, DUH!"

When is Bush NOT clueless and in disarray... :rofl:

[saltpoint]

2. Dubya - clueless? Nah!

Sounds like another distortion by the liberal media.

[knowbody0]

3. the drudge crud

on the clintons is boring as hell. no one gives a hoot. it's not working.

[sendero]

4. Clinton's...

.... worst day was as good as Bush**'s best. You'd think these morons would want the American people to forget about Clinton already :)

[KoKo]

5. Thanks Gloria. The comments in reponse to the article are a great read

too! Worth it to hit the link and check them out.