Bush’s Bluster

The president’s inattention to North Korea is just one example of the price Americans have paid for his need to prove himself worthy of his office.

By Eleanor Clift
Newsweek

Oct. 13, 2006 - The sense of desperation Republicans feel about the impending election has finally permeated the White House, where the president did the equivalent of a rain dance Wednesday sounding the drums for disaffected conservatives to please save the country from Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi. With North Korea and Iran emboldened, and Iraq spiraling into sectarian violence, Bush sought refuge in frat-boy banter about “high-priced news guys” in pinstripes.

What once passed for geniality was so off the mark amidst the serious news that Bush looked and sounded unhinged. At the end of an hour of bleating about how high the stakes are, and how dangerous the enemy is, Bush’s frustration was evident. He glared at his aides as he turned to go back to the Oval Office, as if to say they made him do this press conference and he knew it was a bad idea. “I remember how Clinton used to give us those looks,” chuckles former White House press secretary Mike McCurry, who says what Bush is doing is trying to “pivot” to new material that will pump up his base for the election.

With some 20-odd days to go until the vote, Republicans have settled on Pelosi and taxes, linking the Democrats’ past inclination to raise taxes with the likely next speaker of the House, a liberal woman from San Francisco. Pelosi has not been highly visible during this period, making it harder for the GOP to turn her into a target. Most voters have no idea who she is. Republicans are sending out direct-mail pieces featuring the faces of the Democrats who will take over key congressional committees; not surprisingly, several are African-American, and they are prominently featured.

(There is more, here.)