Sammy Sosa is planning a comeback.
Scottie Pippin hopes to make a comeback.
The Police made a comeback on the Grammys. Yawn.
Shane was wise enough not to "come back."
Now, as Kos notes on the Front Page, David Broder has grand delusions of a Bush comeback.
George Bush? I don't think so. I'll pick Sammy and Scottie as having better chances than Bush in making a successful comeback.
But, for the last few couple of years, our Millionaire Pundit Class has been dreaming of sugar plum fairies and George W. Bush comebacks. They have told is with stately assurance that George Bush could turn this around. And, the Millionaire Pundit Class Enablers, keep giving a voice to these "esteemed" pundits.
William Kristol laid out a roadmap for a Bush comeback... in November 2005.
Keeping Rove; being unapologetic about the war; explaining why Saddam had to be removed, that there were terror ties between Saddam and al Qaeda, and why the war needs to be seen through to victory; fighting for Alito, and other well-qualified conservative judges at the appellate level; advancing pro-growth, pro-family tax reforms--this agenda won’t enamor Bush to liberals. But it could lay the groundwork for a Bush comeback. The alternative is three long years of ducking, dodging--and defeat.
William Safire saw a chance of a comeback... in October 2005.
The wonderful thing about American attention and media coverage, is the narrative has to change. It can't stay the same, or else it's not newsworthy. And so the story will be the comeback. And when you look at what's happened in the last few weeks, what we have overlooked is the fact that there was a constitution voted for in Iraq. Had it been voted against, it would have been a calamity. But it was good news, and it wasn't covered.
Hugh Hewitt being interviewed by Neil Cavuto predicted that the anti-Bush pundits would eat crow... in Marrch 2006.
First a summary of the interview from Media Matters:
Summary: On Your World, blogger and radio host Hugh Hewitt explained in an interview with Neil Cavuto why those who are currently "calling the president, 'damaged goods' ... can be prepared to eat their own words." Hewitt predicted that media figures "are going to have to answer to themselves again how they could have been so wrong, again." During the entire interview, an onscreen caption read, "Coming Soon: The Great Bush Comeback?"
And now the interview:
CAVUTO: You don't think the president can make a big comeback? My next guest says, "Think again." And this is why.
[begin video clip]
CHRIS MATTHEWS (MSNBC host): Devastating new numbers for President Bush today.
KATIE COURIC (NBC News host): President Bush's plunging poll numbers.
ANDERSON COOPER (CNN host): Mr. Bush's popularity is crumbling.
[end video clip]
CAVUTO: Again and again and again. All week long, news personalities all but calling the president, "damaged goods." My next guest says they can be prepared to eat their own words. From Irvine, California, radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. Why is that Hugh?
HEWITT: Well Neil, it's a semiannual story now. Every six months or so, the mainstream media comes along with "the Bush presidency is finished." The funny thing is, they've been doing it every year since the president's first term began in 2001, and each time they pronounce him flat on his back, the poker player ends up taking all the cards and all the money off of the table.
Right now, the poll numbers are bad, but it doesn't really matter to a president who's not facing reelection, and who, in the midterms in November, only has to bring home three or four Republican senators -- and there are great pick-up opportunities in Maryland, in New Jersey, in West Virginia, in Washington state and Michigan. He's going to hold the House and so, once again, I think, he's going to end up 6-for-6 -- twice as governor, twice as president, twice in the midterms, and then, those pundits that you were quoting at the beginning are going to have to answer to themselves again how they could have been so wrong, again.
David Frum had sme ideas on the Bush comeback... in November 2005:
George W. Bush, Comeback Kid?
This is a moment of opportunity for President Bush. With conservatives rallying to the president's superb choice of Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court—and with the worst of the CIA-leak investigation behind him—the way is open for the president to regain the initiative after a frustrating summer and fall. Presidents can remain powerful and important to the very end of their term.
[...]
We can be sure that dramatic events await President Bush as well. And while the faults of this president and the weaknesses in his administration have been unflatteringly highlighted in recent months, in the days ahead Americans will surely also be reminded of his strengths and merits.
John Roberts, of CBS News, reported that "trhe most astute political analysts hoped" felt it was good for the country for Bush to make a comeback... in December 2005.
So, can President Bush be the "Comeback Kid"? Well, a lot has to do with what happens in Iraq. If Iraqis can put together a truly representative government that includes Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis, he may have a chance to claim victory and begin to pull U.S. troops out. Should the Shiite religious parties, with their Iranian affiliations, take control and marginalize the Sunnis it could turn the political climate in Iraq into a petri dish for all-out civil war. Not that anyone (outside die-hard Baathists) would long for the return of Saddam Hussein, but it would certainly be a long way from the stable, democratic Iraq President Bush was looking for. And who knows what would happen with U.S. troops in that situation. Would they withdraw and let Iraqis fight it out? Unlikely. Or would they get stuck there for years to come? The only thing certain about Iraq is that no one knows what will happen.
Like the connective tissue that keeps our bodies from falling apart, Iraq is the thread that runs through President Bush's political fortunes. It is the issue Republicans most fear heading into the mid-term elections. Political analysts don't expect Republicans could lose control of Congress, but if Iraq remains a hotbed of violence, potential civil war and a new base for terrorist operations abroad, voters certainly could go to the polls looking for change.
The most astute political analysts and members of Congress hope President Bush can get back on the winning side of the scoreboard. There is too much at risk, they say — for the reputation and future of this country — to have it any other way.
I think the time for the Comeback dreams are over.
There will be no comeback, Mr. Broder.