BUSH NEEDS A VOICE
For a president doing bold things and with plenty of good news to report, Bush's invisibility is baffling. Maybe it was strategic, as in, the less you say, the less they can pound you with. But in a second term, having claimed a mandate, it would be nice to finally know what our president has to say for himself, directly and through his press team.
Bush's press officers surely are diligent patriots who do the very best they can. That's the problem. It is hard to identify a recent chief executive who struggled so hard to communicate. True, Bush is no Ronald Reagan. But that does not excuse his press operation. It lacks creativity, responds leisurely to most criticism, and lets muddled perceptions linger rather than correct them by relentlessly deploying facts and comments.
"This media team has no vision, no guts, and no instincts," complains one Bush insider. "This election should have been a blowout of Reaganesque proportions. Instead, it was a nail biter. There's only one place to point the finger: at the press staff."
Scott McClellan defines dry white toast. He plays everything straight.
It's not too late for Bush to make the case. One State of the Union address, two interviews, and a handful of press conferences in 2004 made Bush's position on the issues a lot more mysterious than they are. He repeatedly said on the stump, "You know where I stand and you know I say what I mean and mean what I say," but that didn't help all those who had never heard him say it and meanwhile were hearing others put words in his mouth every day.
You're the president, man. Take charge and speak up.
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