NYT- Some in G.O.P. Call on Bush to Focus on Governing

[maddezmom]

By RICHARD W. STEVENSON
Published: June 27, 2005
WASHINGTON, June 26 - President Bush and his hard-charging political team, which seemed to make all the right moves in winning re-election last year, have stumbled when it comes to governing in a second term, many Republicans say, leaving the White House scrambling to get back on track.

Some Republican strategists say President Bush and his advisers have yet to shift from campaign mode to an approach that would allow for more compromise on domestic issues like energy and transportation.
Even as they expressed continued support for Mr. Bush and his goals, influential Republicans said Karl Rove and the White House political operation have been slow to shift from campaign mode, with its base-energizing positions, to an approach that allows for more compromise and increases the probability of Mr. Bush signing legislation that directly addresses the everyday concerns of voters.

"The tone has been too much of a permanent campaign," said Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker. "When you're the minority, you need to fight. When you're the governing majority, you need to produce."

In discussing the White House's problems, Republicans cited a variety of assumptions and decisions that have not worked out as Mr. Bush and his team had planned. They said the administration may have overestimated how much of a mandate Mr. Bush had coming out of last year's campaign, underestimated the willingness of the Democrats to stand up to him and relied too much on a belief that he could force Congress into action by taking his case directly to the people.

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/27/politics/27bush.html

[Robeson]

1. Focusing is hard work.

[meganmonkey]

2. It's REALLY hard work, man

normal people just don't understand that

:rofl:

[rodeodance]

3. Jr should stay as far away from governing as possible!

[redqueen]

4. Mandate?

:rofl:

My, they really ARE that stupid, aren't they?

:rofl:

[Supersedeas]

16. when * said mandate, the Corporate Media printed it like it was gospel

[redqueen]

18. Because they're bought and paid for WHORES.

Any idiot can see he has no mandate...

Oh, that "liberal" media... I loathe them so.

[ixion]

5. all the right moves? please

:puke: stupid, lying mainstream media. :puke:

[Totally Committed]

6. If he can focus on clearing brush with such gusto...

why not governing, too? He wasn't elected to take all those brush-clearing vacations, he was elected to govern. What am I missing?

TC

[tblue37]

30. He has to have private time for drinking, drugging,

and then drying out before the cameras have access to him again.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

7. One trick pony: Divide, divide, divide....

Sound-byte politics playing to the Rapturist Right zealots is the only game they know. And any phony gesture on the part of this administration to compromise will only be rewarded by treachery...that's a lesson learned.

[DemNoir]

8. The best of a bad situation

Who the hell wants him "governing"?

[TahitiNut]

9. "have yet to shift from campaign mode"

Well, that deserves today's KSOTO award. The Busholini White House has been nothing but nonstop partisan campaigning. There's not been a single bit of governance in the public interest. None.

[Burried News]

10. It is too late for Newt's advice, if Bush stays in the WH he will

become Nixon in the Bunker. He has no choice. He must be out and visible. It is also too late for him to houseclean by firing Rumsfeld because it will take too long for the replacement to have an impact.
He has lost the initiative and is incable of compromising to regain it.

[LynnTheDem]

11. republican stupidity; a case study

"They said the administration may have overestimated how much of a mandate Mr. Bush had coming out of last year's campaign, underestimated the willingness of the Democrats to stand up to him and relied too much on a belief that he could force Congress into action by taking his case directly to the people."

-Overestimated bush's mandate;

What, all TWO PERCENT of it? Yeah, what a shock to find out less than 2% doesn't go very far.

-Underestimated Dem willingness to do their jobs;

Didn't notice who else got a record number of votes, and without brother & Diebold help?

-Taking case directly to the people.

What, the RIGHTWING sheeple-people who already agree with anything & everything bush says/does people? Yeah, what a shock to find out preaching to the bush-choir doesn't convince anyone else.

Republicans; stupidest MFers on the planet.

[tanyev]

12. Lame excuse of the year:

"We're on the verge of getting a lot of stuff done," Ms. Devenish said.

Just on the verge. Yeah, with a Republican House and a Republican Senate backing you up, you still can't get anything done. Maybe you need to rethink your "stuff", Ms. Devenish.

[jsamuel]

14. uh, isn't congress done until the new year?

[mom cat]

26. Lame excuses from lame ducks, go figure.

[truthisfreedom]

13. Even as they expressed continued support for Mr. Bush and his goats...

i had a speck of something on the screen for a moment there, but when i read karl rove in the next part of the sentence, i realized it was a telling speck.

[Malva Zebrina]

15. that is what happens when you run the country like a CEO

and have a product to sell. Everything is focused on "selling the product" whether it be the god given message from the president to go to war, or whether it be the president is the greatest president ever because he is a war president and brought freedom all around the world, or whether it be a shallow, vapid Laura pretending to be a world diplomat in the Me, or whether it be--whatever needs to be sold.

It is for certain, concern for the people of this country is NOT the primary focus.

I still have a little bit of faith in the intelligence of the American people to see beyond this commercialised, White House TV ad production, as being nothing more than superficial marketing techniques designed to pull the wool over the eyes of the people.

We see it on TV all the time-it is a way of life-we watch commercials that we know are NOT presenting the truth as we know it,(not every woman is slim, skinny, young and beautiful for instance) and we slough it off as a "commercial" and indeed even expect it to be unreal, even though some of them are quite cool, or funny--and they get our attention---most know, except for the very naive, impressionable or young, that these commercials are far out of the reality in which ordinary people live.

I think that when the little boy, wannabee like daddy, self proclaimed war presnit, who is besting his daddy,. gets up on the TV tommorrow night, dressed in his "military" costume (part of the TV ad) that people, jarred into understanding what he is doing by this marketing that takes advantage of the soldiers he otherwise regards as his slaves and paeons that he can send wherever and whenever he wants for no good reason, or on egregious murderous lies, will know enough by now to scoff at the stupid fool trying to sell his war to----soldiers in the choir.

[SCDem]

20. Good point

I remember in campaing 2000 I kept on hearing from people hear in Red country that government should be run more like a business yada yada yada.

[Terran]

17. Duh, gentlemen: they're not INTERESTED

in compromise. Compromise is for wussies.

[Orsino]

19. Translation: Please Fuck Up Domestically...

...as badly as you're fucking up overseas, so Jesus can come back.

[Kolesar]

21. A quagmire can really hobble a chief exec...eom

[Vickers]

22. But...but...did he already spend all that political capital?!?!?!?!

:eyes:

"Let me put it to you this way: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style."

This is from the 4 Nov 2004 press briefing.

Man, money, political capital, you name it, he can plumb run out of it and ask for more like it's nobody's business! :spank:

[grytpype]

23. You can see where the Repugs are coming from on this one.

If Duhbya would stop trying to be the greatest president in history (in their warped way of thinking) and would just settle down and try to do a decent job of running the executive branch for the rest of his term, he would be better off.

But no, he has to transform the entire Middle East, destroy Social Security, cut taxes to nothing, vanquish all his enemies, etc., etc., etc.

[AlGore-08.com]

24. This is Gingrich positioning himself for 2008

He's trying to get a few "different kind of Republican" quotes in the press to win over moderate Republicans and independents.

Other than that, he doesn't care what Smirk does or does not do.

[SoCalDem]

25. ....and give up campaigning???...NEVER

He's YET to govern. All he has done is read stuff that other people hand him or mouth words that are fed to him from the "man behind the curtain"..

I'd almost PREFER a ONE term limit of 8 years, so that we could FORCE a president to stop campaigning, and actua;lly do the job we "hired" him/her to do.

Put in a "recall" provision at the mid-term, and forbid them from campaigning fr ANYONE..They have business to tend to in DC..not in Podunk Iowa, trying to get their pet sycophant elected. They are wasting OUR money, and not paying attention to their job..

[LightningFlash]

27. Focusing is too hard, LYING is hard work!!!

Bring on the indictments.

http://www.usalone.com/index.htm :mad:

[CityDem]

28. This made me laugh

underestimated the willingness of the Democrats to stand up to him

Did this take into consideration the dems position on bankruptcy legislation, tort reform, energy legislation, Pricilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown or William Pryor? Other than Bolton and Social Security reform, it seems like the dems in congress have been busy bending over and grabbing their ankles. Durbin showed a little courage, but immediately retreated and cried uncle.

[confludemocrat]

29. Yeah, let's try something new: actually governing; fucked up!!!

But look who's giving advice, Mr. Responsible Government, Newt Gingrich. How the fuck much much crazier can this get? I guess alot with this bunch of lying, corrupt thugs.