Posted on 01/19/2006 5:07:13 PM PST by pissant
President George W. Bush is battling eroded public confidence in his leadership over issues like Iraq, the economy and corruption as he seeks to recapture his political clout before November's elections.
Bush, forced to scale back the scope of his second-term plans as his approval ratings sank to record lows for his presidency in late 2005, gets a fresh chance to jump-start his agenda with his State of the Union speech at the end of the month.
Analysts expect few bold new initiatives from an embattled president who jettisoned the centerpiece of his second-term agenda, an overhaul of Social Security, in the face of widespread opposition.
"This is a wounded president right now," said pollster John Zogby. "He doesn't have public opinion at his back. He can't ask too much of Congress because they are already worried about their own re-election."
Bush's political troubles could jeopardize Republican control of the U.S. Congress in November, and analysts see little relief for Bush in coming months.
"It's unrealistic to expect him to gain back too much more ground given the deep polarization in this country about the Bush presidency," said Karlyn Bowman, a poll analyst at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, citing Iraq as the chief culprit.
"This will not be the year when it will be easy for him to pick up support. Whenever Americans have troops in harm's way, they are just anxious," she said.
Bush's vulnerability to events in Iraq and the Middle East, reinforced on Thursday with the release of a new audiotape from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and the potential for new revelations in the scandal probe of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff make Bush's political outlook even more difficult.
In December, a Gallup Poll found majorities disapproved of Bush's handling of the economy, Iraq, foreign affairs, Hurricane Katrina and immigration. The war on terrorism remained Bush's strength, with 52 percent supporting him.
White House and Republican aides say Bush will avoid laundry lists and stick to big themes in his State of the Union speech, emphasizing his plans on the economy, health care, Iraq and the war on terrorism.
"I would be surprised to see the White House scaling back on anything. That would be an admission they are operating from a position of weakness," Republican consultant Rich Galen said.
MODEST REBOUND
Bush made a modest recovery in recent polls -- his approval rating is still mired in the low or mid-40s in most surveys, although up slightly since December -- after a campaign-style push late in the year to sell his policies on Iraq and the economy.
A Gallup Poll report said the average approval rating for Bush's fifth year, which ended on Thursday, was 45.8 percent. That is well behind the fifth-year averages of Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Harry Truman.
It was only slightly better than Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, who were both nearing unhappy ends to their presidencies in their fifth year due to the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, respectively.
Bush will be hamstrung on spending in 2006 by a budget deficit of more than $400 billion, and his shaky political standing has raised questions about how much help he can offer Republicans competing for control of both chambers of Congress and 36 governor's offices in November.
Bush plans to be active on the campaign trail this year, and Republican campaign officials said he and Vice President Dick Cheney remained the party's star fund-raisers.
"I don't think you can find any Republican in the country who wouldn't be ecstatic to go to a fund-raiser with the president or vice president and have their picture taken. They are still a huge draw," said Carl Forti, a spokesman for the House Republican campaign committee.
When and where Bush will be used for campaign rallies and advertisements in the fall is up in the air.
"We try to run these races district by district," Forti said. "It will really just depend on which part of the country and which district you are talking about."
Heard some guy with a funny beard talking about this today... I think
"W" should just retire in '08. Not much point in even living, according to this putz.
Might be him... naw.. no AK-47 in the background.
They'd prefer 06.
elections do have cosequences ask fat ted
elections do have consequences ask fat ted
""This is a wounded president right now," said pollster John Zogby. "He doesn't have public opinion at his back. He can't ask too much of Congress because they are already worried about their own re-election.""
Oh well, W might as well just do what he wants then.
LOL. Plus, Billy gibbons is a GOPer, I think
Hopefully, he'll drink himself into a coma before I get the chance to ask him...
ROFL!!! He just changed a few words from his last article, I'm sure.
With the media against him every day, The Senate and House Democrats digging for all the dirt they can find. His NSA and CIA intelligence services working for the media and Al Quaeda. With a good part of his Republican collegues frightened to death and turning on him like rats its a miracle his ratings are as high as they are. I dont think its the American people President Bush has to worry about its the ANTI-American people who are giving him trouble.
The GOP senators will be begging to be seen with him by Nov. 06. Mark my words.
And he isn't in any trouble at all, IMO. He holds all the cards.
If Clinton had inhaled whatever this maroon has inhaled. He never would have made it as far as he did. Bwahahahahaha.
Clinton inhaled all the oxygen out of the democratic party. That's the one good thing he did.
Could it possibly be his immigration policy is the problem?
Could it possibly be his immigration policy is the problem?
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