Here is what we've been waiting for - the overt movements by GWB to paint himself as the new Ronald Reagan.
How many times last week did we here the word "Optimist" while the talking heads described Ronald Reagan? about 5,403? Well..
Today, in his Rose Garden speech, Bush tried to paint himself as the optimist (and John F. Kerry as a pessimist):
And I am an optimistic person. I guess if you want to try to find something to be pessimistic about, you can find it, no matter how hard you look, you know? I'm optimistic....We need to make sure that we don't become economic isolationists. And -- no, I'm optimistic about the future.
Good God Almighty.
Also, campaign manager Ken Mehlman says:
President Bush has approached the economy with optimism and new ideas, while John Kerry talks down the economy and promises to raise taxes. Kerry's economic pessimism won't put a single American back to work or raise the wages of one employee, but does demonstrate the clear choice Americans face in November between progress and growth and the politics of pessimism.
Is that enough? No. Evidently not.
I've just seen a commercial on CNN that says basically the same thing. George Bush: "I'm an optimist." If you can stomach it, see the spot here.
Kerry has already responded to this line, and I hope this Optimistic Bush thing doesn't catch on.
I don't think this is the best tactic for Dubya. Once America is reminded that he and his administration are the ones who used false evidence to scare the American public and the American Congress into going to war, that's not gonna seem so OPTIMISTIC.