New White House tactic: Let Bush Be Bush

[AGENDA21]

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - George W. Bush is taking time to explain himself, open up to the public in new ways and court the U.S. Congress as he tries to breathe life into a presidency beset by sagging ratings and influence.

With a job-approval rating under 40 percent, Bush, who went to his Crawford ranch for a quiet weekend, has a long way to go. Aides acknowledge it will take a while to rebuild his image, and much will depend on the outcome of the
Iraq war.

White House staffers, who have long limited the president's appearances to speeches and photo opportunities with little contact with regular people, are now inclined to let Bush be Bush.

He is talking at length. His March 21 news conference lasted nearly an hour. A Freedom House speech with questions from the audience in Washington on Wednesday went on for an hour and a half.

Bush even took questions from gray-haired retirees at a senior citizens' home recently and they asked some tough ones. More such sessions are planned.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060402/pl_nm/bush_dc

[Nickster]

1. Excellent idea, I think he should talk as much and as often as he likes.

Maybe, just maybe, people will start waking up to what he's really like. Just maybe?

[radfringe]

23. and with no net

I can hear scottie-dog now... "no, when the president said he was attacking Iran he didn't mean it literally."

'the president didn't mean it literally when he said he's never made a mistake...'

'recent remarks about needing more Mexicans to do the work he wouldn't do shouldn't be taken literally....'

[kentuck]

2. But he's not a president that looks at the polls...

Lying again!

[Cocoa]

3. again?

they have announced the new tactic of letting Bush be Bush as many times as they've killed al Qaeda's #3.

[CJCRANE]

11. I thought so too..

definitely deja vu.

[madmom]

4. trouble with that is the people who voted for him because he was

the one they would most like to have a beer with..can't afford to buy the beer anymore. He'd have to buy and but it on the taxpayer's tab.

[gatorboy]

5. How much are we spending

to fly this chump to Crawford nearly every weekend? He seem to visit his ranch quite a bit and his entourage can't be cheap.

[stevietheman]

6. Bush was also being Bush on his Social Security campaign...

Gee, Bush, how did that work out?

I just find it so hilarious that the White House sees the solution to their problems only through the prism of P.R., and that if Bush just yaps it up more, then his image will somehow be magically restored.

[aden_nak]

7. Oh, please, sweet flipping Jesus, let Bush be Bush. In public.

There's only so much insolence he'll put up with from the serfs before he gets really snippy. Not even Helen Thomas snippy, I mean lip-snearingly mean with over a basic question that everyone outside the White House asks every day.

[HughMoran]

14. I'd pay to watch that ...

with maybe a cheney "go f**k yourself" thrown in

[TomInTib]

8. Recycled "Let Reagan be Reagan" mantra from Iran-Contra...

I remember so well (and sickeningly) that drumbeat.

[liveoaktx]

10. Really! What was it said in reference to? His falling asleep in meetings?

or what other goofy things did he do that needed apologists?

[TomInTib]

15. When public opinion was bouncing around in the bottom of the barrel

they would trot out, "We just need to let Reagan be Reagan", as if that would make everything just peachy again.

I was thinking about that over the last few weeks when the 'pubs started saying things about the fool just needing a "Reagan moment" at this stage of the disaster.

Like one of those Krishna chants where they just substitute a single word and it's a whole new chant.

Next we will probably hear "Let bush be raygun".

[Nikki Stone1]

13. I remember it from the Reagan era too

Of course, the idea of letting Junior be someone else is more interesting. Maybe he could be Britney Spears...

[TomInTib]

16. Like this Britney Spears?

http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/03/29/late-nite-fdl-i-cant-take-it-any-more/

I think it will be more along the lines of "Let B*** be Reagan"

Yeah, that's it.

[Nikki Stone1]

21. Only if he did press conferences in that position

:)

[long_green]

25. The first "let Reagan be Reagan" I remember was from his first

term and it was said by his looney tune Fundie Secretary of the Interior James Watt.

"Let ____ be ____" is a grand old political tradition. It orginated with the Roman senator who asked his fellow citizens to "let Caligula be Caligula." It did go out of fashion for a little while after that.

[liveoaktx]

9. In other words, set your expectations lower if they're not already in

the basement

[CJCRANE]

12. Better tactic: Let Someone Else Be President

[subterranean]

17. Bush's "image" is entirely dependent on 9/11

That's all he ever had, really. That's why he still desperately clings to it and brings it up at every possible opportunity.

[CJCRANE]

19. True..

his approval was in the low 40's before 9/11.

September 12th 2001 his approval shot up to nearly 90% (without him actually doing anything).

It's been downhill (with a few bumps in the road) ever since.

[Jack Rabbit]

18. Bad PR move

He'll stumble over his words, act like he doesn't know what he's atalking aobut (because he really doesn't know what he's talking about), will be unable to keep his lies straight and consistant and will say things that will be easily refuted (although one may have to go beyond the US corporate-owned MSM to find the refutation).

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. Will he be on his tricycle eating pretzels?

[CJCRANE]

22. New White House tactic: Let Bush Clear Brush

You never know, it might just work. At least he seems to enjoy it.

[Rocknrule]

24. Why didn't he say "Let Clinton be Clinton" during Penisgate?