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Heard the comment! Morris is wrong on three counts:

1.) The President's approval ratings are falling. Yes, LAST week's Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll determined that the President's approval numbers were at 60%; however, last week's NBC/WallStreet Journal poll placed the President's approval numbers at 63% (a number they labelled extremely HIGH), and USAToday/CNN/Gallup placed the President's approval numbers at 67%. Additionally today's Ipsos-Reid/Cook Political Report placed the President's approval rating at 64% (a 2% increase from their last poll). [Approval Rating Benchmarks: At this point in their respective presidencies, Reagan and Clinton had approval ratings in the low 40s]

2.) The President shouldn't campaign. As Post reporter Deb Orin indicated last week, Republican pollsters have determined that the President's visits have been providing candidates with a 2-6% BUMP which lasts any where from 2-6 days -- a critical assist for those candidates engaged in tight races. [By-the-by, wasn't Morris one of the pundits who criticized the President for not campaigning more for the governorships we lost last fall?!]

3.) The President should refrain from allowing France to dictate our Iraq policy. Dick, Dick, Dick, as yet another Post reporter noted over the weekend, the President obviously had a pre-determined timeframe in mind when he went to the UN. As his rhetoric this weekend and in today's speeches indicates, the UN is now pushing the limits of this timeframe. The President is deftly but firmly preparing the American people/the world for multilateral action against Iraq that will circumvent the UN -- a decision/announcement he seems prepared to make later this week. [NOTE: Morris knows this and is only pontificating tonight so that he can claim prescience on Friday!]