He is not inclined to hold back. |
In a time when his party almost never exceeded 51 percent of the seats in the House, he was able time and again to command the discipline to deliver. He was always playing on the edge, and people who play on the edge, and are effective, become targets. |
It's certainly worth the effort, but it's damned hard to do. |
My impression of what they're trying to do after the first few days is to recover exactly the kind of performance that they say they're good at, which is essentially an executive-style leadership. That is to say, 'We've got good people in all the top positions, we're hierarchical, we plan.' That's how they're trying to recover. You go with your strength to a point of weakness. |
There's a point at which as president you can't game out everything. You've got to go to the core of your own way of doing things. This is a nominee, I would guess, in whom he has confidence and senses in his own mind that she has got the qualities for the job. |
We're in a period in which all eyes have moved away from Bush. Having a term limitation is an invitation for turning your eyes from what was to what is likely to be in the future. |