Interesting analysis in the Washington Post today about Bush and his misjudgements. In 2000 he promised to be "a uniter not a divider" and on 9/11 he had the American public and even many parts of the world in his hands. It sickens me to think of what could have been around the world, considering how much support there was out there. If Bush had truly run an inclusive government as he promised, this election campagin would not even be close.
As Bush heads to the Republican National Convention in New York this week, the man who stood astride the political world at that news conference in 2002 is a distinctly more life-size figure. With the election just 65 days away, there is a puzzle: How did a leader who was so formidable become so vulnerable?Among the two biggest blunders:
In small ways, the answer is an accumulation of miscalculations and missed opportunities that have marred the president's political operation this year... In a large way, however, Bush's predicament is less a reversal of his 2002 success than a natural progression of it -- the consequence of two confrontations he sought that autumn.
...his decision to confront Democrats directly and immerse himself in partisan electioneering ensured that he would face reelection with little of the rally-behind-the-leader sentiment that flowed to him after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
- The enactment of a prescription drug benefit under Medicare in December
- The missed opportunity of the State of the Union address in January.
