In the last few days President Bush has come out and made a series of speeches regarding the War on Terror specifically our involvement in Iraq. His speaking has been concise, clear and effective in refocusing the debate. The only problem i have is that he should have been doing this two years ago.
I have been a very strong supporter of Bush in all of his first term and probably in the first year of his second term however in the past year and a half i have been disappointed in him is several areas. Everything from his Supreme Court Appointments (the fiasco with Harriet Meyers) to his vacillating stance on Border Security and Illegal Immigration. My frustration with Bush does not end with policy but with is weak responses to the Wackos in the far left and their attack dogs in the media. His idea of taking the “high road” is admirable but in an environment where the truth is generally the last thing anyone cares about you have to go out and attack your political enemies.
Ok so what the heck I’m i talking about? My fear is that Bush is coming out now defending himself only because an election is two months away. After the election Bush will simply leave the microphone and simply go back to business as usual where he allows his political enemies to frame the debate with convoluted arguments which don’t hold up to general logic.
The reality is very simple the Democrats want to gain in the House and Senate and while i dont believe they will take either house i do think they will win more seats in both. The real battle is the 08 Presidential Election and how the debate is framed between now and then is quite simply going to determine who will win. Bush has a great ability to garner support but only when he gets out there and talks about it.
I have very little confidence in the Republican leadership in Congress the president HAS to get out there often and say more to people than “were making good progress”. He has to make more political capital out of taking out important terror leaders and he needs to move back to his more conservative values and deal with illegal immigration. Bush is trying to move to the middle to appease his critics. The problem is his critics hate him and will never accept him no matter what he does and when he moves more to the middle he is supporters feel rejected. That is why his polling numbers are so low and why I have been frustrated recently with his administration.
In the end i hope he ramps up the rhetoric and begins to engage in debate with the left because in the end the far left is not patriotic or value-driven and will lose any debate if challenged. I hope this is a turning point for the administration and not just politics.
September 8, 2006 at 8:18 pm
The dims will take the house. They are too self-destructive to take the white house unless the Republicans implode, a possibility, or a strong, real conservative third party candidate emerges.
Bush is a joke. All politicians are. None of them could find the high road with GPS. The liberals and the conservatives are exactly the same. They say what will get them elected where they serve their corporate masters.
Politics and true religion are mutually exclusive.