[atlanta67]

I remember Ronald Reagan use to address the nation about once every 6 months. He spoke in a way that made boring and/or complicator issues understandable to the average american.

Bush did it once with great success in Aug 2001, when he spoke about stem cells from his rance in TX. Polls showed about 60% of the voters agreed with him after the speech.

Problem for Bush is he isnt one to pat himself on the back or engage in self promotion or seek attention

[motzman]

I remember Ronald Reagan use to address the nation about once every 6 months

But that was a different time, with a lot less media. Nevertheless...Reagan was EXCORIATED constantly by the media. People who didn't care about politics hated Reagan by default, because of the media.

Plus, "Presidential addresses" don't have nearly the juice they used to due to (primarily) media fragmentation. The people who are apathetic or don't really care much will find another channel or pop in a DVD, etc. What they will hear about regarding any such speech is the overwhelming liberal bashing of the President in print, local news, CBS evening news, etc. Why would Bush subject himself to that?

Bush's media handling has been first-rate. The results speak for themselves.

IMHO, of course.