Monday, July 22, 2002
White House Wake-Up Call
An article by The Weekly Standard's David Brooks"Why the Republicans Should be Afraid" has caused quite the stir in blogland today. Today's ABC News "The Note" (free registration required) contains some items which also suggest catastrophe for the GOP this November:
[T]his President lives by one of the rules of his old friend, the late Lee Atwater: if something is certain to happen, be for it. . . . Unfortunately for this President, he can't afford to get a bad grade on his midterms, because he needs to control both chambers of Congress to get any of his agenda passed, and this guy ran for president to get things done, not to just hold the office.
However, the Bush Administration's willingness to be for anything "certain to happen" undercuts staunchly pro-English GOP candidates in the upcoming election and thus the future success of Bush policies.
Getting things done that matter requires the White House to at least occasionally dig in and fight some things that it may well believe are certain to happen. A show of fighting spirit can do wonders, as a friend of mine's elderly declawed cat demonstrated when she drove off two fully-clawed spry young cats from her food dish simply by looking for all the world like she couldn't wait to fight both of them at once. A Bush veto of a bad bill or two needs to happen and happen soon.
Also ominous for GOP chances in November is this item: "only 42 percent think the country is headed in the right direction, while 48 percent think it is on the wrong track, according to a new CBS-New York Times poll."
The right direction/wrong direction concern can easily be addressed by a White House demonstrating a willingness to fight for our national unity. The bipartisan outrage over the Pledge of Allegiance decision demonstrates the political hay President Bush could make by taking on the anti-English lobby. Official English is an 80% or better issue in opinion polls. A repeal of Clinton Executive Order 13166 would be not only good policy; it would be smart politics.
|posted by Jim on 5:21 PM|
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