The comeback of President Bush?
There's Bill O'Reilly's world, and then there's reality.
From
last night's show:
The comeback of President Bush: that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo". Mostly positive reviews for the president's speech last night, even from unfriendly sources. Mr. Bush delivered big money promises, hope, and some contrition. I thought the speech was well written.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, there is a new USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll:
President Bush's approval rating for handling the hurricane dipped after his address to the nation...
Americans' views of President Bush and his leadership have soured in the wake of dismay over the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, the course of the Iraq war and the future of the economy.
Bush's rating for handling each of those issues dropped to his lowest yet in a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday. Assessments of his personal qualities also fell: For the first time, a majority says he isn't a strong and decisive leader.
Bush's overall approval rating is 40%, equaling a previous low. His disapproval is 58%, a new high.
"Bush stands at a precipice," says Carroll Doherty of the non-partisan Pew Research Center. "He's lost ground among independents. He seems to be starting to lose ground among his own party. And he lost the Democrats a long time ago."
And Scott McClellan is contradicting himself again:
White House press secretary Scott McClellan says the president "knows a leader must govern based on what he believes is right, not based on polls." Bush is "working to address the priorities that Americans are most concerned about," he says.
Huh?
So... Bush is not governing based on polls, but he is governing based on the priorities of most Americans? How does he know what their priorities are if he doesn't use polls? Does God tell him?
And if Bush is "working to address the priorities that Americans are most concerned about," does that mean we will be pulling out of Iraq any day? After all, that is now what most Americans want:
Nearly two-thirds of those polled, 63%, say some or all of the U.S. troops in Iraq should be withdrawn. A record-high 59% say it was a mistake to invade.
And despite Bill O'Reilly's fantasies, the New Orleans speech did not help the President:
Assessments of Bush on the hurricane dipped after the speech: 56% say he has taken steps to help victims mostly for political reasons, not because he cares about them.
Sorry, Bill. Bush isn't making a comeback. He's done. He's politically dead -- he just doesn't know it yet.