Happy Birthday, Mr. President
(CBS)
There seemed to be a spring in the step of President Bush as he and the First Lady walked to Marine One this morning for the flight to Camp David.
It’s his 61st birthday – and about a hundred guests of White House staffers had been invited to give him a friendly send-off as he got a head-start on his weekend at 9:15 A.M.
As birthday gifts go, there was good economic news for him this day. The Bureau of Labor Statistics was out this morning with its job numbers for June.
It reported 132,000 new payroll jobs last month – more than most analysts expected. And the national unemployment rate was steady at a healthy 4.5%.
“We are happy about that,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto was quick to volunteer at the start of his morning briefing for reporters.
The White House trumpets the figures, saying they bring to more than two million – the number of new jobs created over the past year. Further, said Fratto, the nation has now enjoyed “46 consecutive months of strong job growth.” He said there’s been “strong wage growth” as well.
But on this birthday, Mr. Bush presides over a war in Iraq that’s now well into its fifth year. And he’s losing the support of key Republicans.
Just yesterday, Sen. Pete Domenici, (R-N.M.), announced his loss of confidence in the president’s Iraq strategy and embraced a plan to get U.S. troops out of combat there by spring.
With that, Domenici joined the ranks of fellow Republican Senators Dick Lugar and George Voinovich, who went public recently with their doubts and concerns about the President’s handling of Iraq.
The White House said today that it has enormous respect for Domenici and regards him as thoughtful and someone to listen to. But spokesman Fratto disputed reporters’ assertions that Pres. Bush now faces a hemorrhage of republican support.
There can be no disputing the plunge of support for Mr. Bush in the polls. The lastest CBS News survey shows him with a pitiful 27% approval rating and 65% disapproval. They’re the worst poll numbers of his presidency.
Yet, Mr. Bush is standing his ground on Iraq.
“It’s a tough fight,” he said in his Fourth of July speech Wednesday to National Guard personnel in West Virginia, “but I wouldn’t have asked troops to go into harm's way if the fight was not essential to the security of the United States of America.”
However difficult the fight is in Iraq, he said “we must win it.”
And a week ago yesterday, he suffered a devastating political blow, when his so-called Immigration Reform plan died in Congress. It was the top item on his legislative agenda this year.
So it’s not the setting for a really happy birthday – though he has just over 18 months left in office to turn things around.
He gave himself a present last evening, going to the Nationals-Cubs game at R.F.K. Stadium. As presidents do, he arrived a little late and left during the 7th inning stretch, but he seemed to enjoy himself - watching the game from the owner’s box and munching on hot dogs, nachos and chicken tenders.
And we know he gets a lift by going to Camp David this weekend.
By my count, it’s his 124th visit to the presidential retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains. And counting today, he’s spent all or part of 386 days there.
As recently as last Sunday at his folks place in Kennebunkport, Maine – he needled me for keeping track of his time at Camp David and his Texas ranch.
Sorry, Mr. President – but Happy Birthday just the same.
If the President feels bad about the nation's opinion of him%u2014a meager 25% of those surveyed in a June Gallup poll approve of Bush's performance%u2014all he needs to do is pick up that same poll and keep reading. According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions.
Come 2008 Bush isn't running but this 110th DO-NOTHING DEMOCRAT CONGRESS is......... how much lower can we go? Maybe if we elect MORE Democrats we could get the number down to "single" digits.
DEMOCRATS = GREAT TALKER ....... SADLY NO WALKERS
"According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress."
But the reason the public has lost confidence in Congress is because it has failed to do anything to stop Bush. So it is hard to see how the low Congress poll numbers is anything more than a further indictment of Bush.
Since you clearly fall into the minority, let me help you out since you have issues with common sense. Bush and the republicans have been in power for 6 years and in their "do-something" brilliance, have led us down a completely useless war that has only served to make Haliburton rich and the country less safe.
The democrats have control over congress by a small margin that is not sufficient to override presidential veto. THey've only had this control for 6 months. Congress "doing-nothing" is a heck of a lot better than allowing Bush to "do-something". Bush no longer has carte-blanche to do whatever he pleases and in all likelihood will accomplish little in the next 18 months. THANK GOD FOR THAT!!! He's done enough damage!
Thank you to the 110th Congress for limiting this President's ability to do any more damage.
REPUBLICANS = BREAK-THE-LAW ... SCOOTER WALKS.
Need I say more.
My point is that our military was placed UNNECESSARILY in harm's way by its incompetent commander in chief. Iraq was no greater threat to the USA than was Iran or North Korea or others. One could make a strong case it was a lesser threat. The Bush Administration did not have compelling intelligence that Iraq actually had any WMD's. Yet, he proceeded to place 100,000 troops in harms way to mitigate a risk that did not exist. I'm sorry that it is our military that must clean up HIS mess.
Today, our country must deal with the risk that thousands of displaced, angry Muslim youth are prime targets to be coerced into martyrdom through Al Qaeda. It is a fact that as a result of sparking the instability in Iraq, we have in fact helped Al Qaeda's recruitment efforts.
I hope things stabilize in Iraq so that you don't have to see any more of your friends get killed or wounded. I for one have friends over there as well and I worry every day that I'll hear the worst. I pray that you all get to see your 61st birthdays like our "fine" president got to this past week. It pisses me off that you guys have to clean up the mess he started...and risk your lives doing it.