San Diego Union Tribune September 7, 2005 ANALYSIS 'A very bad week for the president' By George E. Condon Jr. COPLEY NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON – Already in trouble over the war in Iraq and soaring gas prices, President Bush is struggling to recover from the most serious political hit of his presidency as he fights to overcome the stinging criticism of his handling of Hurricane Katrina and its devastating aftermath. Even Republicans concede that the administration stumbled out of the gate and was slow to gauge the enormity of the disaster. In recent days, the White House has become a flurry of activity with cameras capturing events showing the president in command. But the damage done by the early missteps will be difficult to undo and could further jeopardize a second-term agenda already weighed down by casualties in Iraq and the inexorable creeping toward lame-duck status at home. "This was a very bad week for the president," said independent pollster John Zogby. "Right now, he is radioactive . . . The general public has been bombarded by all sorts of criticisms about the president just being aloof and clumsy and not meeting the benchmark of crisis leadership that he set for himself after September 11th." "He's in a serious lame-duck period now . . . I don't think he's yet found his sea legs on this. Where things stand right now, I think you forget about much of his agenda between now and the remainder of his time in office." Stuart Rothenberg, an independent analyst in Washington, is more cautious, though he agrees Bush has been damaged. "We have to wait a few weeks until some of the more fiery rhetoric cools, and until the relief efforts make some major progress, until we know how he's going to come out of this," he said. Rothenberg suggested it may be that Hurricane Katrina has merely hardened the opposition to the president without pushing his supporters to the breaking point. "We do know that the people who didn't like Bush going into this really hate him now; people who thought he was incompetent now are convinced he is incompetent; people who thought he didn't care about African-Americans are now absolutely convinced of that," he said. "But I don't know about other people around the country. Remember, even before Katrina and the flood, his job approval was down and the administration's domestic agenda looked to be in trouble." Rothenberg said many Republicans have felt free to voice their unhappiness with the administration "because they don't care about Bush's job approval. They only care about their own positioning for their re-elections." Charles Cook, author of an influential nonpartisan political newsletter, said Republicans in Congress are warily watching developments. "There was a growing nervousness on Capitol Hill over the summer from Republicans as gas prices went up, as the situation in Iraq got worse, as Social Security (restructuring) crashed and burned," he said. "There is a lot of anxiety up there." Cook said he doubts Bush can reverse all of the Katrina-related damage to his standing in part because it "exacerbates two pre-existing problems." The first is his failure to communicate his feelings of compassion and empathy for Americans suffering. The second, said Cook, is that "the war in Iraq is siphoning off resources and attention that people think could be better spent here at home." In that regard, Bush has a credibility problem as he tries to persuade a skeptical public that sending a large contingent of the Louisiana National Guard to Iraq did not affect the Guard's response to the hurricane and flooding. Bush's missteps included what is now seen as an ill-advised decision to stick with his planned schedule after Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast last Monday. A day later, Bush delivered a speech at the North Island Naval Air Station on Coronado designed to build support for his Iraq policies. That, said pollster Zogby, was "absolutely a mistake . . . It made it seem he cared more about the war than the suffering in Mississippi and Louisiana." Republicans do not disagree that Bush hit some sour notes immediately after the storm. But they insist the political damage is temporary. For conservative strategist Keith Appell, the most pain comes from comparing this administration's handling of the natural disaster with the record of its Democratic predecessor. "One of the few good things I could say about the Clinton administration is that they dealt with these things very well," he said. "And right now, the contrast is tough to take." But, Appell added, "there is no way this cuts into Bush's political base. Over time, as the response becomes stronger and the good stories begin to outnumber the bad . . . the political winds will change for Bush." He said "it is tough to watch this now, but there is a general sense that it will turn around." Republican pollster Whit Ayres acknowledged "there is a lot of grousing and finger pointing right now." But he said, "If the feds come in, as they have started to do, with massive support; if they end up playing a major role in . . . the rebuilding of New Orleans, it will leave a much better taste in peoples' mouths than they have today." He said it does make the second term more challenging. "Issues where the president had difficulty will become more difficult," he said, referring to Social Security and Iraq. He said it makes the timing dicier for any further tax cuts or the elimination of the estate tax. There is also a political reality that should keep Bush from falling further in the polls. "His approval rating is only 13 percent among Democrats," Cook said. "How can it go much lower than that? And among Republicans it is about 87 percent. I think in this period of polarization Republicans will stick with their president even if they are wincing when they do." »Next Story»