[Rove] has been instrumental in Bush's rise from the very beginning, because of his connection to politics and his fascination with policy and the close personal relationship that exists between them, ... It puts Bush in a very dependent position. |
[The rebuilding efforts ahead will take place in the White House as well as along the Gulf Coast, says Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas.] This goes right to the core of his strength and right to the core of the thing that has enabled him to stay plausible despite the political partisan divide in the country, ... Now he's in damage control big time. |
A lot of people are going to conclude if this thing passes, Perry is going to be hard to stop. |
A lot of these moves seem to me to be pretty much in keeping with moving chairs around the deck. The title kind of ratified what he was already doing, and that was making a connection for the president between politics and policy. He has always done that. |
Bush could go with somebody unexpected, like a politician, that could throw the opposition a little off balance. |
Bush has had ample opportunity to allow Rumsfeld to make a graceful exit and has chosen not to do it. He perceives that there is no alternative at this point to sticking with Rumsfeld without seeming to abandon his strategy on the Iraq war. |
Bush is in trouble. One would tend to think the dip is the Dubai ports issue, which has meant a spate of bad news. But there's been a collection of bad news. |
Bush likes people who keep low profiles. He likes to be the star. He doesn't like competition from within. |
Bush's standing with the public is a factor in his ongoing effort to influence legislation and to sustain support for his Iraq policy. The honesty dip is partly caused by a loss of faith in his credibility on Iraq. |
He admonished reporters to refrain from long questions and -- amid concern that he is overreaching on his own powers -- joked that he had signed an executive order to ban them. I sensed kind of a latent indignation in him. |
He was never a leader on controversial social issues, ... He has always been more concerned with centrist business positions. |
He's a bold-stroke artist, but he's always been someone who adjusts his approach to fit the circumstances. His political capital is diminished, and his opponents are emboldened. I think he's reading the circumstances he finds himself in and adjusting accordingly. |
He's got a position on immigration that puts him at loggerheads with the conservative wing of his party. They've been suspicious of him for years, and his position on this issue only adds to that suspicion. |
He's got to re-establish his leadership capability, and one of the ways he is doing that is by trying to show that he's hands-on in the recovery. He needs to send the signal that he is a hands-on manager to restore flagging confidence. |
He's up against it. The immediate priority is to keep either house from turning to the other side. |