It's still early, but I am beginning to notice disturbing signs that Bush is falling into the daily PR trap of governing by first trying to figure out what people want to hear. He should just tell it like it is, act like he has convictions, and make it appear less like he is so worried about how everything is going to go over when he says it. Public figures get into trouble when the public perceives that after every declaration they are listening for a reaction. Like him or not, Ronald Reagan always sounded like he believed what he was saying even if he knew you didn't agree. That is the tone (not necessarily the substance) that Bush needs to strive for.
Now Bush has decided that the sky is bright, not falling:
dailynews.yahoo.com
Monday March 19 3:41 PM ET
In Latest Twist, Bush 'Very Confident' on Economy
By Arshad Mohammed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush (news - web sites) said on Monday he was ``very confident'' about the U.S. economy, the latest twist in the White House's good news, bad news routine on whether U.S. growth is headed up, down or sideways.
``I'm very confident about our economy,'' Bush told reporters as he met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (news - web sites) at the White House. ``I know it can beat expectations.''
``I will explain that to him as clearly as I can, about, when our policies are in place, how optimistic I am about economic growth,'' Bush added.
Since well before he took office, the Republican president and his aides have sounded warnings about the U.S. economy. Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) led the pack, saying on Dec. 3 while the presidential election was still being contested, the United States might be on the ``front edge of a recession.''
In sending his proposed $1.6 trillion, 10-year tax cut to Congress on Feb. 8, Bush said ``a warning light is flashing on the dashboard of our economy, and we can't just drive on and hope for the best.''
The comments have drawn criticism from Democrats as well as some economists that the Bush administration has been ``talking down'' the U.S. economy for political purposes.
The White House has said Bush is simply being straight with the country in an environment where U.S. growth, which raced along at 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2000, slowed to 1.1 percent in the final three months of the year.
As the stock market plunged last week, Bush said he was concerned that many Americans had lost money. While citing the weak economy to sell his tax plan, Bush appeared to moderate his rhetoric by saying: ``I've got great faith in our economy.''
By Saturday, however, he had reverted to pessimism in his weekly radio address, arguing that a weak U.S. economy needed his proposed $1.6 trillion, 10-year tax cut to recover.
``Good morning. For several months, economic indicators have pointed toward a slowdown, and now many Americans are beginning to feel its impact in your lives,'' Bush said in the opening of the commentary broadcast by radio stations around the nation.
``The stock market is causing worries; high energy prices are straining family budgets; and some American workers and small business people have been directly affected by layoffs and slowing retail sales,'' he said.
``We have been hearing too much troubling economic news. It is time for the United States Congress to give Americans some good economic news: tax relief for everyone who pays income taxes.''
On Monday, Bush took a sunnier tack.
Speaking to Hispanic business people, the president made his standard stump speech on the need for tax cuts but chose not to say that the U.S. economy has started to sputter -- a line he has used repeatedly in recent weeks.
His aides deny the president is talking down the economy, saying he is simply leveling with the American people and arguing that candor is better than Pollyannaish optimism. |
