[Mb-civic] Buffeted With Problems, Bush Must Chart a Recovery - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Buffeted With Problems, Bush Must Chart a Recovery

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 30, 2005; Page A01

President Bush's descent from the euphoria of an against-the-odds 
reelection victory one year ago this week to the current reality of a 
White House in crisis has been as rapid as it has been unexpected. 
Presidential advisers and outside analysts say the route back to genuine 
recovery is likely to be slow and difficult -- and without a clear 
blueprint for success.

Friday's indictment of Vice President Cheney's chief of staff I. Lewis 
"Scooter" Libby dealt another big blow to public confidence in the 
administration, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Bush's 
approval rating fell to 39 percent -- the lowest recorded by this poll 
in his presidency -- and a majority of Americans said the charges signal 
broader ethical problems in the administration. By a ratio of 3 to 1, 
those surveyed said the level of honesty in government has declined 
during Bush's tenure.

With its ability to command public attention and frame the national 
agenda, the presidency is a supremely resilient institution, and such 
recent occupants as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton have bounced back 
from adversity. But Bush faces such a complex set of problems -- an 
unpopular war in Iraq, high energy prices, the costly challenge of 
rebuilding New Orleans, a fractured party, disaffected independent 
voters and little goodwill on Capitol Hill -- that his prospects are 
particularly daunting.

Beyond that is the question of whether Bush needs to make fundamental 
adjustments to a governing and political style that has given him 
electoral success but also left the country deeply polarized. With his 
Republican base showing signs of discontent and independent voters more 
disaffected than ever, Bush faces a potential tradeoff on every 
important decision ahead of him that could cause him to lose as much 
ground with one part of the public as he gains with another.

Whether he can devise a strategy that successfully navigates between the 
right and the center may determine just how much he can achieve for 
himself and his party through the rest of his presidency.

The president's advisers recognize the reality in which they find 
themselves. "What the public wants is back-to-basics governance and 
decision making," presidential counselor Dan Bartlett said yesterday. 
"This is not a situation in which it changes overnight or that there's a 
'Hail Mary' pass that changes the dynamic. . . . There's not a magic 
bullet."

That assessment comes after one of the toughest weeks of Bush's 
presidency that included the perjury and obstruction charges against 
Libby, an embarrassing defeat over the nomination of White House counsel 
Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, and the 2,000th U.S. death in the 
war in Iraq.

White House officials see recovery as a step-by-step process, beginning 
with the announcement of a new Supreme Court nominee who they hope will 
overcome the wreckage left by Miers's withdrawal last Thursday. Between 
now and the end of the year, they hope to push a budget through Congress 
that includes both funds for hurricane rebuilding and offsetting 
spending cuts, and also engage with the hot-button issues of immigration 
and border security.

Abroad, they look to the Dec. 15 elections for a new government in Iraq 
as a potentially significant benchmark in helping to convince the 
American people that Bush's policy is working. With presidential trips 
scheduled to Latin America, China, Japan and elsewhere in November, 
officials foresee opportunities for Bush to command international 
attention and regain some of his lost momentum.

Early next year, Bush will attempt to use his State of the Union address 
to chart a revised agenda for the rest of his term, which his advisers 
believe will help signal changes in direction and emphasis from the past 
year.

(continued)...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/29/AR2005102901397.html?nav=hcmodule
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