White House Watch: Bush's polls crashing, but GOP not in panic
Despite anger over rising gas prices, the war in Iraq, and President Bush's plummeting poll numbers, Republicans say that they are not worried yet about the 2006 elections.
"It's a long way off still," said a Bush political adviser. However, many Hill Republican leadership aides and Bush associates are putting pressure on the White House to address the war better and make a swift move to affect the skyrocketing prices of oil. Some are even suggesting that Bush suspend the federal gas tax so that voters can immediately feel relief.
Meanwhile, Republican political strategists say that while the president's numbers are dropping, the Democrats have done little to take advantage and prepare for House and Senate races next year.
"The Democrats are not nearly as well positioned in recruitment and their standing among voters as we," said a key Bush adviser. Also, Republicans look to the benefits of redistricting over the past decade that greatly limits what Democrats can do in House races. "The last decade of redistricting limits the range of any swing," said the adviser.
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