WASHINGTON — The White House wants the American public to think it's on the rebound, scoring important triumphs in Iraq and North Korea and on domestic spying while taking tough stands on oil drilling and relief for homeowners.
The White House, the experts and the polls say, however, is wrong. President Bush hasn't begun a comeback.
"All this is pretty much a lot of noise. He's going out with a whimper," said Erwin Hargrove, presidential scholar at Vanderbilt University and the author of "The Effective President."
Adam Warber, professor of political science at Clemson University, had similar thoughts.
"It's very difficult for him now. His public approval is so poor, he doesn't really have a lot of political capital," Warber said. Congress is run by Democrats reluctant to give Bush any domestic victories, and his approval ratings have remained at or near a dismal 30 percent for about a year.
Bush is the nation's fifth lame duck since the 22nd Amendment limited presidents to two terms, beginning with Harry Truman's successor in 1952. One was Richard Nixon, who resigned because of Watergate-related scandals 19 months into his second term.
1 comment:
a wimp on a whimper...how fitting... the more i think about it, the more i become disgusted. he has always been a lackey but to realize how he is not a real american is disgusting.
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