White House Week
It's Hardball Season, So Nothing Is Sacred
Senate Democrats are planning to use the upcoming anniversaries of the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina to argue that President Bush and the GOP Congress have not done enough to protect Americans from terrorism and other threats. On August 24, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid plans to appear in New Orleans to decry the federal government's response to Katrina, and soon after Labor Day the Democrats will stage events charging Republicans with leaving the country vulnerable to terrorist attacks by, among other things, not implementing many recommendations of the 9/11 commission. The White House, however, has its own plans. Bush will visit the Gulf region next week to make his post-Katrina case, and he is expected to use the 9/11 anniversary to recommit himself to fighting terrorists and, linked to that, the war in Iraq.
Lieberman: Friends in Unexpected Places
Vets for Freedom, a new group whose members saw duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, believes it has helped put independent Connecticut Senate candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman back in the lead after his primary loss to Ned Lamont over the war issue. The group ran an ad in the Hartford Courant. Headlined "Thank you Senator Lieberman," it featured an Iraq war vet praising the senator for standing by the troops. After it ran, vets phoned and E-mailed pledges of support, and about that time Lieberman took a big lead over Lamont in state polls. Now the group will most likely focus on other races where support for the war is an issue. "We think there's a resonance for this message nationally," said Vets spokesman Dan Senor, a former White House aide.
Terror Plot Foiled, Bush Bump Fizzles
White House strategists are disappointed that the arrest of alleged terrorist plotters in the United Kingdom hasn't increased President Bush's job-approval ratings very much. The expectation was that Bush might benefit from the arrests as evidence that his tough approach to fighting terrorism, in cooperation with U.S. allies, was paying off. But while those polled see Bush as a strong leader in fighting terrorism, they have not raised his overall job performance rating. "We need a sustained period of good news to boost the numbers," says a key Republican strategist.
Big Surprise: Iraqis in a Foul Mood
The unrelenting violence and chaos of Iraq have taken their toll on the people there, according to a new study of Iraqi public opinion. Based on surveys in 2004 and 2006, it found increased feelings of powerlessness, insecurity, pessimism, and a striking level of distrust of U.S. intentions among all three of Iraq's major ethnic and religious groups. The most recent survey, done in April, asked for "the three main reasons for the U.S. invasion of Iraq." Less than 2 percent chose "to bring democracy to Iraq" as their first choice. "To control Iraqi oil" was picked by 76 percent, followed by "to build military bases" (41 percent) and "to help Israel" (32 percent). The good news: The surveys found a rise in support for secular politics. The project was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and conducted by three professors in Michigan.
PHOTO OP: 3:41 p.m., August 16, York, Pa.
Looking to get his presidency back on a roll, George Bush hopped on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as he made a pitch to voters to keep Republicans in charge of the economy. In a round-table disussion with Harley-Davidson workers leery of gas prices and inflation, Bush argued the need for policies to open up new world markets for U.S. products.
With Dan Gilgoff, Kenneth T. Walsh, Paul Bedard and David E. Kaplan
This story appears in the August 28, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
advertisement
