Posted on 04/21/2006 8:38:40 AM PDT by ncountylee
Bill Sammon, White House correspondent for the Washington Times and author of "Strategery,” said President Bush must talk much more about the amazing U.S. economic growth because the message is not getting through to Americans.
A recent Fox News Opinion poll on the economy revealed 72 percent of Americans believe the U.S. economy is in "fair or poor” condition, while 46 percent said their own personal economic situation was "good or excellent.”
Sammon, appearing on Fox News Channel, said much of this is a classic case of style over substance. The Bush administration, he said, has focused on national security issues at the expense of launching a public relations campaign to tout the thriving U.S. economy.
When I covered the Clinton administration, you couldn’t go two days without the treasury secretary, the president or the vice president talking about how many jobs they created and how much prosperity they had,” Sammon said. "Now, some of that turned out to be a false prosperity with the dot-com bust, but the onus is on this administration to make the case that the economy is strong, and I’m not sure this president has done it as much as he could have.”
The Fox poll indicated that rising gas prices have contributed to a general feeling among Americans that the U.S. economy is not strong, which flies in the face of other economic indicators.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Hmmm... another possible choice for the WH Press Secretary? (or is he auditioning for the job with this ? :-)
Super Stretch ping.
Our education system?
The Iraq War
The message from the MSM?
Incompetent MESSENGER?
I don't understand it! What is obvious to me, a middle income wage earner and home owner in Las Vegas, is NOT so obvious to most others!
WHY?
I just don't understand this timidity by the president to tout his accomplishments. It's like they're constantly afraid of what the Democrats' will say in return so they just hold their tongues. This is amazing. Just state your case and let the Democrats nay-say it all. They'll just look like the custodians of incessant negativity that they are.
A bit late for faux scenarios and claims. Nothing is going to help -- and the American public is not interested in Presidential images -- they want RESULTS for America and support for the will of the people. Not politcal bull excrement.
Can anyone else see the amazing inflation going on. I want to talk about that and what we as a nation are going to do about it.
The White House can scream about the economy all day, but no one will report it. Although, this isn't as bad as the Reagan-Bush years, when every nightly news broadcast was started with some story on the homeless. I think 100 million people were homeless during the Reagan-Bush years, but they disappeared the day Clinton was elected.
Seriously... 3+% growth for such a sustained period... can you imagine what it would be if oil and gas prices were under control?
It's because (to paraphrase Elliot Spitzer, our next de facto governor "It's like a bomb hit, it looks like the Appalachins") you're not in upstate NY. By the way I'm still waiting for the 250,000 jobs Hillary promised to bring here.
President Bush's efforts appear luke warm by comparison.
A new press secretary may help but that alone is not enough.
Ah, Bill: Bush Must Must Seal The Border!
ANY PR on ANY issue would be a positve move by the WH
go back on offense
The economy is booming. There is a lot of money out there. It is just not reaching the middle class. Wages are stalled while the cost of everything keeps going up.
Most Americans are extremely busy and very moderate with politics. They wake up, worry about buying their kids what they need, they start up their vehicle, fill up at the local gas station, turn on the radio and hear negative news on Iraq. They might hear more negative news when they get home in the evening.
day after day of that...
Perhaps for most, the message is not personal.
Tell us please, what specific things are affecting you personally that would lead you to believe that the economy is "great?"
Perhaps some find it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Heating bills that were up 200% over the winter and gas prices that will be over $3.00 a gallon for the next 9 months are definitely more important to the middle class than hearing that progress is being made on alternative fuels that could someday help.
Many see this as unnecessarily painful and demoralizing.
You are right as is Bill Sammon in saying a day didn't go by during the 90s that you didn't hear about how great the economy was and how it was all Clinton's doing. Now of course Clinton also had a willing media more than happy to put forth that lie as well, and no matter how much Bush gins up his communications effort the media will never allow him any credit for the economy or report on anything other than gas prices to represent the economy. But the more the administration sticks to that talking point the less able the media will be to ignore it or drown it out.
Illegal immigration is far more serious than a good economy.
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