White House Week
Want to Rally Conservatives? Try Attacking Big Media
To crank up his sagging job-approval ratings, President Bush is trying to rally the conservative base. And one way to do this is to attack the mainstream media, which is scorned by conservatives for being too liberal and anti-GOP. The plan is to get the base's dander up and, it is hoped, increase turnout in November's midterm elections. Republican strategists say the White House has only just begun its antimedia campaign. Bush's pitch: The media won't give him credit for strengthening the economy with tax cuts and won't shut up over lapses like the botched handling of the Dubai ports deal. Most of all, Bush argues that things are going far better in Iraq than media reporting indicates. Bush hit that theme particularly hard in his news conference this week, and administration officials say it will be a standard part of his speeches for the foreseeable future.
Seeing Gain, and No Pain, in Tax Cuts
President Bush, moving to give permanent status to his hallmark tax cuts, is planning to step up his push for the issue in hopes that the House and Senate will grant his wish this year. Advisers say that Bush believes he has to take this on himself because House and Senate leaders aren't in agreement on the package, which he feels is a good campaign issue, and a personal "legacy issue" as well. Bush strategists had thought congressional leaders would take control of the issue, but that hasn't happened, frustrating the president. To sell it again, the strategists say that first Bush will have to talk up the economy and convince Congress that the tax cuts won't hurt the nation's economic picture.
Low in the Polls, but Big With the Bucks
Vice President Dick Cheney's overall job-approval ratings may be ankle high, but he remains popular with hard-liners and is raising real money for GOP candidates. Much of this is going unnoticed, because the veep doesn't always announce where he's going and he makes it hard for reporters to travel with him. So far this year, Cheney has attended 11 events from Arizona to New Jersey that raised $1.6 million, according to the GOP. (Fundraiser in chief President Bush has attended six events that raised $12.5 million; he was expected to raise $1 million at a tony event for Sen. Rick Santorum on March 24.) Still, the local candidates are not unaware of Cheney's unpopularity, especially with swing voters. In New Jersey, the veep helped raise $400,000 for GOP Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr.--but Kean showed up at the event 15 minutes after Cheney departed. Kean said he got stuck in traffic.
Light at the Tunnel's End or a Mirage?
White House officials are now claiming that the tide is about to change for the better in Iraq. "It's inside of a month," one adviser says. Officials say Iraq appears to be moving quickly to establish a government that would be the first step in stabilizing the war-torn country. But before President Bush can declare "mission accomplished," his team says three things must happen: First, Iraq has to settle on a new prime minister and a president. Second, Iraq must establish a "semi-stable parliament." And finally, the Iraqi security force must gain autonomy. "That's our marker," says one aide.
White House Moment 2:03 p.m., March 22, Wheeling, W.Va.
A group of locals waits inside the display window of Kaufman's of Downtown Wheeling to get a glimpse of President Bush riding by in his motorcade. The president visited their city to talk about the war on terrorism and answer people's questions. One boy asked, "Do you like living in the White House?"
With Paul Bedard and Kenneth T. Walsh
This story appears in the April 3, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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