Bush Needs To Deliver Like Reagan

www.newsday.com ^ | 05/02/03 | James P. Pinkerton

[bedolido]

Ronald Reagan had three sons: Michael, Ron, and George W. Bush. That became clear yesterday when the 43rd president landed on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Why did he do it? Because it looked cool on TV. But while W. might be Reaganesque in style, he has yet to prove that he is Reaganesque in substance.

It's a cliché that Bush 43 models himself more on Reagan than he does on his own father. And why not? The Gipper was a two-termer, while the elder Bush, having mostly inherited the presidency from his popular predecessor, managed to lose the White House after just four years.

One of Reagan's political strengths was that he was always surrounded by imagery that appealed to most Americans. Not everyone in this country likes straight-shootin' and plain-talkin' cowboys, but most do. And so Reagan, born in Illinois, remade himself into a Westerner. By contrast, the elder Bush, who flew combat missions in the Pacific while Reagan was making training movies in Hollywood, was betwixt and between image-wise, a little bit country and too much preppy.

And now the younger Bush, who might have landed on carriers 35 years ago had he not sought refuge in the National Guard, is the one decked out like a combat ace. Poor John McCain. He walked the walk in Vietnam, and now he sits on the sidelines as Bush talks the talk off the coast of California.

There were some differences from Reagan. Whereas Reagan was sunny, Bush was grim last night, even grim reaperish, as he declared, "The war on terror is not over." But either way, Bush has just presided over a military victory and has a rendezvous with re-election in 18 months. Understandably, he wishes to bask in the glory of the armed services. All that was needed was what politicos call a "defining event." That is, something to stamp the image in the public mind: George W. Bush = America Standing Tall.

[alloysteel]

George W. Bush was just re-elected President last night, by acclamation. Everything else you see, between now and November 2004, is purely theatrics.

This is not to say, that some totally unexpected circumstance may arise, pushing everything else off the table. But this morning, Friday, May 2, 2003, George W. Bush has personal capital which dwarfs anything anybody else may be able to muster.

No matter how long the Syrians, North Koreans, Euroweenies, or Democrats sit and study their hands, or raise the bid, or just stand on bluff, they are on dangerous ground in this card game. Still want to bet against the house?

[sarasota]

Correction: Bush Needs to Deliver Like Bush. Period.

[Aggie Mama]

Exactly.

[SamAdams76]

President Bush may be no Reagan but I tell you this, when 241 of my fellow Marines were slaughtered in a truck bombing back in 1983, we waited in vain for six years for Reagan to do something about it. All of us were raring to go over there and kick some terrorist butt.

Bush may not be as gifted as Reagan with respect to connecting with the American people and projecting a presidential image, but at least he's a man of action. Based on past experience, I think the terrorists are more afraid of G.W. Bush than they ever were of Reagan.

[JFC]

Your Correct... BUSH 2004, and I am betting pretty hefty that his running mate will be Condi Rice. A Win-Win TEAM.

Her being on the deck was a good thing!


And what is the poor McVain thang? Who gives a rats behind about McVain?

[3AngelaD]

Did you see that Democratic twit Cong. Enslee last night on Fox? He gave away the game. Instead of saying something supportive of the military and then going in for the kill, the first thing out of his mouth after they asked him about the President's appearance on the Lincoln was, "He might have landed safely on the carrier, but he's going to crash land the economy." It's a lot easier to counter that kind of stuff when they're so straightforward about their party line. Enslee is the least subtle of men, and that was his one 15-minute opportunity to impress La Pelosi. He also has one of the most irritating voices known to man.

[FryingPan101]

W. might be Reaganesque in style

Bush will go down in history as being Bushesque.

[section9]

Actually, Pinkerton understands what Bush must do but fails to recongize the chief similarity between the Gipper and Bush the Younger:

They mean what they say, and say what they mean. And if either man said he was going to do something, he did it.

Directness and honesty are held in high esteem by Americans everywhere, of whatever party. Look at Bush's leadership numbers.

Bush will deliver because he says he will. The people know this. They understand that he will do as he says, his word can be trusted, and that he will not lie to them. They might not agree with all of his positions. They might agree with none of them, and plan to vote against him in 2004. But only the most rabid of the Bush haters, the DU crowd, believe that he will lie to them.

This is a commodity whose value Clinton never understood.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[MJY1288]

Don't get me wrong, I love Ronald Reagan for what he did to turn this country around, But IMHO George W. Bush is as much of, or even more of, a leader than our beloved Ronnie.

[js1138]

Bush may not be as gifted as Reagan with respect to connecting with the American people and projecting a presidential image...

GW projects the most amazing image of any politician in my lifetime. I was a child under Eisenhower, and he projected an image of quiet competence that made people feel safe in the midst of a nuclear cold war.

Bush has some of this, but he connects at an emotional level that Eisenhower never did. You know he means what he says. He also has some of the best speech writers since Kennedy's.

[JFC]

Amen. Bush is the best President in my history.

[kevao]

Having won a Persian Gulf War while neglecting the economy, Bush must prove he retains the winning ways of Reagan, not the losing ways of his own father.

These liberal pinheads try to block every measure Bush wants to stimulate the economy, and then accuse him of "neglecting" the economy. But I don't think the It's-the-Economy-Stupid ploy is going to work in 2004 like it did in 1992.

[Cobra64]

You should be right; except people have short memories. Bush 41 lost his Presidency after a tremendous military success too.

[3AngelaD]

Yes, indeed. Made the entire episode tolerable. And Enslee kept babbling, not realizing he'd been outgunned.

[SamAdams76]

One other thing that Bush does much better than Reagan is choosing the perfect people for the job. Is it possible to have a better VP than Cheney? A better defense secretary than Rumsfeld? A better NSA than Condi Rice? Bush has so many quality people around him that it is pretty hard for him to fail. Even though many of us are not crazy about the secretary of state, I think he is the right person for the job as well. We need someone in the administration that is a diplomat and Powell is that man.

Not to bash Reagan, I'm really not intending to, but he had some real stiffs working under him. He was done wrong by a lot of people.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

President Bush may be no Reagan but I tell you this, when 241 of my fellow Marines were slaughtered in a truck bombing back in 1983, we waited in vain for six years for Reagan to do something about it. All of us were raring to go over there and kick some terrorist butt.

Bush may not be as gifted as Reagan with respect to connecting with the American people and projecting a presidential image, but at least he's a man of action. Based on past experience, I think the terrorists are more afraid of G.W. Bush than they ever were of Reagan.

AMEN!

[reelfoot]

Why Condi Rice? Is she conservative? The only domestic issue I've heard her view on was when she (& Colin Powell) undercut the administration position on the U. of Michigan case, arguing for affirmative steps to ensure "diversity."

[Paulus Invictus]

It really hurts the liberal media to say anything positive about GWB. They scatter faint praise with their stupid comparison with Reagan and cannot understand how this Prez is doing all he promised in a way that energizes the people. My take on these idiots: they are the ones whose brains are on hold, whose IQs are in single digits and who daily prove they are all the worst kind of despicable RATS