Posted on 03/24/2006 4:25:20 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
In his first debate with Walter Mondale, my dad Ronald Reagan fumbled badly – there was no sign of the Great Communicator during that debate. What there was instead was a Ronald Reagan given bad advice by some of his staff who were afraid of letting the public see the real Ronald Reagan, who they feared might be seen as too conservative.
In the second debate all that changed because my dad insisted upon being himself rather than the namby-pamby moderate politician some of his advisers thought he should be. My dad insisted on being Ronald Reagan, not some pale imitation. He wanted Ronald Reagan to be seen as Ronald Reagan
For a long time now, we have not seen the real George Bush and his low poll numbers reflect that. There is some truth to the claim that he was living in a bubble, isolated from the public by timid staff members who feared allowing George W. Bush to be George W. Bush.
On Monday the wraps came off when the president spoke at Cleveland's Commonwealth Club and TV viewers across the nation saw the real George W. Bush emerge.
That this was not an isolated event became obvious the very next day at his White House press conference when the media and the nation saw Bush being Bush – Texas tough, blunt spoken, and totally unapologetic about being what he is. George Bush allowed himself to be George W. Bush, take-him-or-leave-him.
I imagine that there were a lot of nervous nellies among the White House staff who were wringing their hands over the idea that the president was out there in front of the hostile media and nation being exactly what he knows himself to be: a no-nonsense chief executive who is sure of himself, knows his job, knows how to do it, and doesn't care a whit if the media elite and the desperate Dems don't like it.
Mark my words, if Bush continues to be Bush and allows the public to see Bush as Bush, his poll numbers are going to rise dramatically despite the efforts of his enemies in the media and the desperate Dems to blacken and slander him and lie about him. And he'll find the American people, who love a fighter, solidly behind him and all that he stands for as he continues to reveal his rationale for what he is doing – slowly winning the Iraq war, creating a growing ever-more prosperous economy and the job growth that comes with it, and doing everything possible to keep Americans safe from terrorist atrocities.
In that Cleveland speech - where he faced some tough and sometimes openly hostile questions - and in the next day's press conference, this allegedly bumbling and inarticulate president showed himself to be sure-footed and deft in defending his policies and his actions. In the face of some sheer nastiness he maintained his cool, dealing with his detractors with a hard steel hand encased in a soft velvet glove.
His record on the economy is strong, but you'd never know it from the polls.
Being Bush means telling the people what the desperate Dems and the media don't want them to know: the economy is booming. He started to do that yesterday when he explained what is happening in the economy:
"Last year our economy grew at a healthy 3.5 percent," he said. "Over the past two-and-a-half years, the economy has added nearly 5 million new jobs. That's more than Japan and the 25 nations of the European Union combined. "The national unemployment rate is 4.8 percent - that's lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s.
"Productivity is strong. Inflation is contained. Household net worth is at an all-time high. Real after-tax income is up more than 8 percent per person since the beginning of 2001. The growing economy is a result of the hard work of the American people and good policies here in Washington."
This is Bush being Bush – and he must keep being Bush. The desperate Dems will hate it, the liberal media will hate and the American people will eat it up. As I wrote, they like a fighter. That's what they are seeing now.
Professional political advisors have ruined many a good man.
He has nothing to lose by taking off the gloves. I cheer every time he strikes back at a totally biased, liberal MSM. They deserve every shot he can give them and then some.
He was a manly man.
Not some wussified Castrotii that most single women vote for.
I've no idea why he doesn't give them a good belting every day...
Mark my words, if Bush continues to be Bush and allows the public to see Bush as Bush, his poll numbers are going to rise dramatically despite the efforts of his enemies in the media and the desperate Dems to blacken and slander him and lie about him. And he'll find the American people, who love a fighter, solidly behind him and all that he stands for as he continues to reveal his rationale for what he is doing – slowly winning the Iraq war, creating a growing ever-more prosperous economy and the job growth that comes with it, and doing everything possible to keep Americans safe from terrorist atrocities.
This is exactly right -
Cowboy up Mr. President and tell those around you (including weak-kneed types in the Senate) to pound sand. Be yourself.
The other reality is our great CIC knows that all the MSM polls are nothing more then pollsh*t! in the end anyway.
It's a shame he's not a politician himself. Every time I see Michael Reagan on the news or TV he is well spoken and very supportive of America and its endeavours. Bravo to him for coming out and saying what we all wanted to hear.
And maybe that which some were afraid we might figure out...
Michael has a great example to follow. God Bless & Keep The Great Ronald Reagan!
...Who hires dud advisors and takes their advice, or ignores it but doesn't fire them. I think there may be a problem at the top.
At worst, until now, (in re "presentation) all our side could fault him for was for what he didn't say -- which exactly mirrors flipside - the Democratic Liberal/MSM frustration.
In short: The President has Walked the Line. And done so very well.
The Cleveland speech, the press conference, and the rest would be worthless if the media does not cover it.
The one thing anyone with an I.Q. larger than their shoe size knows, the media wants what is new and different.
If Bush were out their making speeches and holding press conferences every day, the media would spend about 1.2 seconds a day covering it.
What a Republican presidnet has to do is avoid the press for a while.. until they demand he make appearances. Then he can make appearances that will be covered for a few days and hope that changes the public view. For after a couple of weeks the media will stop covering him. So he must crawl back into his shell until the media will give him print and air time to get his message out again.
Democrats don't have that problem.. often the Democrat problem is too much coverage and then Democrats tend to say dumb things that turn off the voters. Such as "I voted for it before I voted against it."
Michael Reagan was wrong about this: "...a no-nonsense chief executive who is sure of himself, knows his job, knows how to do it, and doesn't care a whit if the media elite and the desperate Dems don't like it."
And this is exactly 'why he doesn't give them a good belting every day'.
I don't care for projections of a roughshod, rough riding stampedin' cowboy who doesn't give a cowpie what anyone thinks. (Not at ALL saying that's what you've said, AD) He does. He's not on a stampede, he just simply does what he contemplates and believes is the right thing to do, ever without malice, regardless.
Lord, I sound like ohioWfan tonight ! )
Reagan has a good piece, and there may (probably are) timid staffers that urge him to be someone other than who he is, but after these five years I think we can detect a pattern. IMO, that pattern is not unknown to the President himself, which suggests to me it's intentional. So the question becomes why. Why wait so long to respond? Your theory it keeps him on the front page is practical. And, can't say it hasn't worked for him. Oh it DOES come with setbacks, such as legislative setbacks because some pols take advantage of the low ebbs. On the other hand, if he were out there everyday in offensive rebuttals the media wouldn't feel the need to respond to him eventually.
I don't know if this was the thought behind their pattern, but it makes more sense than believing the administration hasn't a clue it's supporters want them to fight. As well that not responding hurts them.
Mark my words, if Bush continues to be Bush and allows the public to see Bush as Bush, his poll numbers are going to rise dramatically despite the efforts of his enemies in the media and the desperate Dems to blacken and slander him and lie about him. And he'll find the American people, who love a fighter, solidly behind him and all that he stands for as he continues to reveal his rationale for what he is doing – slowly winning the Iraq war, creating a growing ever-more prosperous economy and the job growth that comes with it, and doing everything possible to keep Americans safe from terrorist atrocities.
Exactly. As much as I disliked the Clintons, they and their band of Clintonistas were effective in this area.
The Bush White House gives every indication that it just doesn't care anymore. The Dems are getting away with murder!
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