Bush Speaks. Will Anyone Listen?

By Eric on January 28, 2008

President Bush will give his final State of the Union address on Monday night, but we already know what he’s going to say.

He’s going to talk about his War in Iraq. He’s going to tell us how much the security situation in Iraq has improved, but he probably won’t mention that the chief of police in Iraq’s Nineveh province was killed last week by a suicide bomber wearing an Iraqi police uniform. And, of course, he’ll remind us that The Surge Is Working.™

He’ll also say a few things about the economy. He’ll try to tell us that we’re not in a recession. He’ll tell us that we have nothing to worry about as long as Congress passes his economic stimulus package–a package that some say is too little, too late.

So we know what he’s going to say. The real question is, will anyone be listening?

The economy has supplanted Iraq as the top public concern, and with voters shifting their focus toward the presidential primaries, Bush faces a steep challenge in persuading Americans to heed his words on the war, economic policy or any other issue, according to administration officials, lawmakers and outside observers.

“Very large segments of the American people have written him off already and have moved on to the next chapter,” said Jeremy Rosner, a Clinton White House aide and Democratic pollster.

Even if they do listen to President Bush, most Americans won’t like what they hear. Most Americans don’t approve of the job Bush is doing. Over half of Americans want to bring our soldiers home from Iraq within a year; they don’t want to hear his plan for keeping them there for the next year–if not longer. As for the economy, Americans trust Democrats to fix the failing economy, not Bush.

Americans don’t trust George W. Bush on the issues. Americans won’t listen to George W. Bush on the issues. And it’s not just Democrats who won’t be listening. Even John McCain won’t be listening, and we know how he feels about George Bush.

So tonight, George W. Bush will address the American people. But will the American people care about what he has to say?

Tags: economy, George W. Bush, Iraq, State of the Union

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1. [...] (Cross-posted at CrazyDrumGuy) [...]

   —Student Life on January 28, 2008 at 12:22 am