That whacky electorate. They only think they dislike the job that Dubya is doing in the White House. In reality, if only they knew it, they’re just unsettled, disturbed and all a-flutter in wartime. At least that’s what the Presdient said in a Today one-on-one this morning.
GREGORY: Let me ask you about your leadership. In the most recent survey, your disapproval rating is now one point lower than Richard Nixon’s before he resigned the presidency. You are laughing.
BUSH: I’m not laughing –
GREGORY: Why? Why do you think that is?
BUSH: Because we are at war, and war unsettles people. Listen, we got a great economy. We’ve added 5.2 million jobs in the last two and a half years. People are unsettled.
GREGORY: But they’re not just unsettled sir. They disapprove of the job you’re doing.
BUSH: That’s unsettled.
Most leaders, even if convinced of the quality of the job they were doing, or of its necessity, would be asking themselves how better to communicate those issues and reasons and so gather up the support of their constituency that way. That Bush seems willing to simply dismiss it all as people being all rattled by war and a-twitter with fear … is pretty … remarkable.
I’m certainly not arguing for governance through polling — that can be just as disastrous. That’s getting in line behind the people. You want the people to get in line behind you, I’d think. Bush, at his point, doesn’t seem to care where the people are (at least until November).
Well…
He *is* the bubble boy, and never sees anything that does not conform to to what he believes, and he believes what he believes to be true.
I actually kind of wish the site had the full interview on it. You can actually catch glimpses of what makes Bush supposedly so charismatic *in person* — more natural lighting, conversation, etc. Usually he’s got a kind of deer-in-the-headlights look and comes across as a stuttering idjit.
That said, it’s still a goofy proposition on his part, and either indicates a terrible arrogance or a terrible lack of touch with the rest of the world.