Y'all must not have been hearing the same speeches I've been hearing -- the ones saying the Medicare drug policy only benefits doctors and pharmaceutical companies, the ones criticizing the "No Child Left Behind Program", criticizing abortion policies, etc., etc.
Of course, the president has done some good things. Abortion, the Pickering appointment, Libya, Kyoto all spring to mind. But he is running a very high-risk strategy with this pandering to the centre Left. The dream situation for November would be a traditional Dem candidate who is anti-gun, pro-Kyoto, pro-UN, and was pushing the amnesty. But the enemy is too clever, they read their polls, and they have neutralised many points of difference. The waters are going to be muddied, and if Rove's centrism continues we are going to have a demoralised base who are both cynical about the GOP, and insufficiently frightened of the Dems. All it would take would be 1. an increase in terror attacks in Iraq, to make the nation war-weary, 2. some kind of domestic scandal, cooked up by the Dems and enthusiastically promoted by their media, and 3. a conservative protest candidate, to narrow the gap significantly. GWB's current tactics might work here in Australia, where we all have to vote, and people are used to choosing the candidate which will do them the least damage. But Stateside, where voting's not compulsory, it's crazy to trade guaranteed support, for a maybe. A Christian gunowner in the hand is worth two soccer moms in the Volvo, if you get my meaning. Cheers, B