Political die cast for Bush, recovery unlikely
Is Bush relevant? Of course, but credibility is the issue that counts
MSNBC Political Calendar


President Bush has lost the greatest commodity a president can possess: The public’s trust.

Scattered with Katrina’s winds and buried in the bloody battlefields of Iraq, his credibility is likely gone forever, which means there will be no political comeback for Bush. His die is cast.

As he stood before the nation and Congress on Tuesday, pleading for the benefit of the doubt in Iraq, polls showed that less than a third of Americans approved of his job performance. Two-thirds said his political problems are long-term. Solid majorities called their president untrustworthy, stubborn and out of touch with their problems.

The State of the Union address, a ritual tailor-made for presidential recoveries, was nearly eclipsed by events outside Bush’s control:

Three days before the address, Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton jumped into a fast-budding 2008 presidential race that threatens to overshadow Bush’s agenda and whet the public’s appetite for change at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Also on Saturday, a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter crashed in northeast of Baghdad, killing all 12 service members on board.
Hours before the address, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff went on trial for perjury. The case is a public reminder of a White House deception: Bush’s press secretary insisted in 2003 that no senior White House officials were involved in the leak of a CIA officer’s name. In fact, at least two were involved.
Hours after the address, the Democratic-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a no-confidence vote on his troop escalation strategy. Some fellow Republicans abandoned him.
“What do you believe? What are you willing to support? Why were you elected?” asked Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., as he implored colleagues to stand up to the White House after four years of acquiescence. “If you wanted a safe job, go sell shoes. This is a tough business.”

Indeed, it is. Just two years ago, Bush was awash in inaugural glow after a triumphant re-election. In two national campaigns, Bush had forged a bond with Americans, many of whom disagreed with him on policy grounds but felt that he would always do what he thought was right – and shoot straight about it.

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