How can a majority favor Bush in response to a poll that says the country is headed in the wrong direction and is in need of change? Apparently the inference here is that the president is on training wheels and in the next four years he will get better at it. Let’s be patient, though the president himself is never patient, there’s a good chance he will begin at least to seek advice from the moderates of his party instead of God and His evangelical disciples. Why, he might even behave himself and extend token respect for the opposing party. Conceivably, he might even propose to rollback some taxes on the rich to jumpstart his slowpoke economy! Besides, what in the world could the founding fathers be thinking of, limiting a presidential term to four years — after all, elementary school is eight years!

Another poll shows overwhelmingly that the president is regarded as a strong wartime leader; despite still another poll that shows a majority now thinks the war in Iraq was a mistake. Well, that’s an improvement from the Vietnam war wherein a majority was against the war but would not go so far as to deem it a mistake. Apparently it is easier for Americans to admit to a mistake when only 1,100 troops died in contrast to 58,000. Landing on the aircraft looked good, though not exactly on a par with Washington crossing the Delaware; nevertheless, he is a strong leader because with a bullhorn and ground zero as a backdrop, he sure can roar with decisiveness. Let’s be fair about this: he got it almost right in Afghanistan, which should be enough to forgive him for botching Iraq. Ergo, have faith that in the next four years this C minus student might even get a B minus.

Copyright © 2004 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: October 20, 2004.

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