LOL! The Bully Pulpit is the use of the Presidential command of the stage to highlight an issue and pressure opponents. Reagan was very good at doing this.
However, the media caught on toward the tail end of his administration, and have been working to undermine the use of the pulpit with Republican presidents (both Bush43 and Bush 41).
When I point out that the President does speak, almost every day, and when I point out the NUMEROUS press conferences he has, I am told "Not good enough!" He needs a national speech on prime time!
Apparently people think the president can access the networks whenever he likes. Au contraire. They might be suckered once into carrying an address, but after that there would be no coverage of any national speeches.
The networks are ignoring anything he says. The provide a "synopsis" and consider that coverage.
Of course, when Clinton was in office we saw him 24/7.
I am continually amazed at this accusation that Bush hasn't fought for these judges or expended political capital on them.
First of all, the senators who are blocking these judges on the judiciary committee are IMMUNE to Republician pressure. They are in safe seats and don't care what most Americans think. They are not going to send those nominees to the floor of the Senate if you massed 100,000 people outside Congress carrying pitchforks and torches. And not only are they immune to political pressure, but the expenditure of political pressure on this issue would be not only ineffective but counter-productive, because it would show the President as being ineffectual in getting something accomplished.
Secondly, the President is trying to get a Republician majority in November and has spoken about the judges at almost every appearance. (Those who don't watch these appearances are unable to criticize on this issue, in my opinion...and that includes Mark Steyn.)
Third, in my opinion everything became subordinate to the war after September 11, 2001. Priorities must be set, and domestic issues come a distant second.
My only fault about the President is that I do wish he would put us on more of a war footing, but that is a judgement best made by him, and I know he has to consider the economy, possibility of panic among clueless citizens, and perhaps the fact that a relaxed attitude enables us to catch terrorists within our country by making them think no one is paying attention.
At any rate, the "Bully Pulpit" is not as available to President Bush as it was to Reagan...and that is why he makes so many appearances outside the Beltway. Smaller cities like Davenport, Iowa are going to give him coverage, while it will probably not even merit a still photo on NBC.
Ditto What You Said! President Bush knows that he has to reach every American one by one; I get so frustrated at the critics who say he is not communicating with the country.
Apparently his UN speech was carried live on the broadcast as well as the cable networks. I bet some people saw him speak live for the first time.
"Apparently people think the president can access the networks whenever he likes. Au contraire. They might be suckered once into carrying an address, but after that there would be no coverage of any national speeches." Totally disagree with this. If Bush were to make another speech, outlining "the case against Sadaam", every network would carry it live.
The networks did blow off a couple of Clinton speeches, but I don't believe they've ever done that with Bush, and I'm certain they haven't done it since 9/11.
Again, in my view, it's not the quantity of the speeches but the quality. IMHO he does the speeches in various cities across the country,to let the heartland know he's concerned about the people who live there, which is fine, but he's also protecting himself from the tough questions from the Washington media. Can't be afraid of the vipers!!!
And I think he is concerned, given some of his past performances.
He should have more confidence, in himself and in the American people. (Go George!)
But the only way we're going to "get to know his heart" is to hear him speak extemporaneously. And that, in his own view, is his biggest weakness. I don't think so. I think most people in the country understand his problem in this area, and he should joke about it more.
Contrary to popular belief,(especially on FR) not every single journalist is a heathen or worse.Bush knows this, too, and he knows how to cultivate journalists. Whatever his reasons, he's not doing it. And I think he should and could do a better job in this department. Again, the value of propaganda shouldn't be underestimated. Karen Hughes is an expert --and she should be dragged back to Washington from Texas, again imho.
