Bush supporters are alarmed by six weeks of bad news for the Bush administration. Does Bush really have to worry, or is he playing "rope-a-dope?"
Reuters describes the scene:
Since the beginning of 2004, President Bush has suffered one political misfire after another, prompting some Republicans to wonder anxiously when the White House political machine will get in gear.
"This may have been the worst six weeks of Bush's political career," said Rick Davis, who managed the 2000 presidential bid by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain which lost to Bush.
Supporters point to the job flap, the AWOL flap, and the fresh and minty scientist flap as evidence that the Bush administration is in serious trouble.
Don't be fooled kids. The fact is, this hasn't damaged Bush one bit.
If the election were held today, Kerry and Edwards would both beat Bush by a comfortable margin according to the latest polls. However, a closer look at the poll results shows that both of them have much softer support than Bush. Bush's core support hasn't moved an inch since these stories came out.
And, as the article points out, Bush's campaign machine hasn't started up in earnest yet. Once it does, they will have a highly organized, well-motivated campaign ready to go, with $150+ million in funding, to go against Kerry or Edwards.
Things look good now, but don't kid yourselves: this is still Bush's race to lose. We have a lot of fighting left to go before this is over.