| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| It's The Economy, Stupid? |
| 2005-10-21 |
| Interesting perspective, with a bit of balance. DC Examiner Four years ago, President Bush was enjoying record approval ratings of 80 percent or higher. In 2002, he became the first president in decades to see his party increase their numbers in Congress during a midterm election. In 2004, he not only managed to survive one of the most heated presidential elections in history, but again saw his party gain seats. Following the 2004 election, the president spoke of the political capital he gained and Republicans seemed to be at the helm of American politics. How quickly things change. The president's approval rating now hovers around 40 percent - the lowest of his presidency - and a mere 29 percent of Americans believe the country is heading in the right direction. The public's dissatisfaction is understandable. Energy prices have soared to record highs. The Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina was lackluster at best. Numerous White House officials and Republican party leaders face potential indictments. The situation in Iraq is progressing at a snail's pace. To the Instant Gratification Generation, anyway. The economy has been lukewarm and there's been no action on the important issue of immigration. Sprinkle in a brewing mutiny among conservatives over the Harriet Miers nomination and President Bush and the Republican party could be in a tough political fight. How did they fall from grace so quickly? Simple: pride. With things going well for Republicans in recent years, their success has caused them to, at times, govern with arrogance and act without humility. They should have known that, at some point, it would come back to haunt them. Can Bush and his party recover? Sure. Here's how: Americans like feeling that their government is taking action on issues that are important to them and the Bush administration has been stumbling to do so recently. A recent poll by The National Journal's Hotline shows that Americans overwhelmingly view the economy as the most important issue, with 33 percent of respondents placing it at the top of their priorities. The war in Iraq garnered 15 percent and terrorism mustered a paltry 7 percent. This can no doubt be attributed to the record energy prices have started taking more money out of the pockets of Americans. The president would be wise to publicly address these concerns and perhaps even issue a Clinton-esque "I feel your pain" declaration. A little bit of empathy can go a long way. Bush also would be wise to turn to his base. Already feeling betrayed by bloated federal spending and inaction on immigration, the nomination of Miers sparked a firestorm among conservatives. The president needs to quell this grumbling before it becomes a full-fledged uprising. Even with all the bad press surrounding Republicans, however, Democrats have little to celebrate. Republicans may be shooting themselves in the foot, but it has not yet sparked an exodus to the Democrats. Democrat congressional leadership has an embarrassing 32 percent approval rating, which is only marginally above the 29 percent approval rating of Congress as a whole. The Democrats have failed to provide viable alternatives on issues such as high energy prices, Iraq or the economy. And while the current outlook is bleak for Republicans in Washington, the GOP seems to be faring better nationally. Republicans may very well pick up two governorships this year in Virginia and New Jersey - which both are currently occupied by Democrats. The president's "record low" approval rating also might be misleading. Both Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan - the standard-bearing presidents of either party - had approval ratings below 40 percent during their presidencies. Before them, Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon dipped below 30 percent approval. This may be a dubious source of comfort for Bush, but it could be worse. For some perspective, the 29 percent "right direction" number is the lowest it's been since 1995, the year before Bill Clinton's rout of Bob Dole. So all is not lost for Bush. If the midterm elections were in November, he could very well be in dire straits. The elections are, however, more than a year away. And a lot can happen in a year. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #1 [T]heir success has caused them to, at times, govern with arrogance and act without humility. They should have known that, at some point, it would come back to haunt them. Interesting perspective. I'd argue that they've been too humble and accommodating to the left and have therefore sowed the seeds of dissatisfaction among their own base. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-10-21 22:27 |