National Journal: The Declining Bush Mandate

The Declining Bush Mandate
Moderator: Larry J. Sabato, Center for Politics

Panelists:

--Fred Barnes, Fox News
--Carl Cannon, National Journal
--Rosiland Jordan, NBC News
--Susan Page, USA Today

USA Today's Susan Page: "the problems Bush faces goes to the heart of why he won independents in both elections."

National Journal's Carl Cannon: "There's a fatigue factor...in the modern news cycle. These presidents think they need to do an event a day..and people just tune the guy out. Even people who don't disagree with him on the war."

NBC's Rosalind Jordan: "People are turning off. What's more surprising...people seem to be turning away from him personally. We've started to see a downward trend in the president's personal appeal to voters. People basically want to root for the president regardless of party, and I think that if no one likes you, no one wants to stand by you."

Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes: "We live in an usual time where politics is enormously polarized. Maybe 45 percent is not rooting for the president. There are not many true independents...not kmany true swing voters...In the next 38 months, he won't get them back. Pres. Bush will have to rule from a narrow majority. I don't believe he has turned off a majority of Americans politically and personally, but he does have to win back a few of them. But Bush functions well from a historically low presidential approval rating."

(more)

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