So Much For The "Bush Is Radioactive" Meme

The NY Times is scratching its collective heads over President Bush's appearances on the stump lately.

Captain Ed thinks that - once again - the MSM is "misunderestimating" his political capital.

Stolberg undermines her own thesis, although readers have to press several paragraphs into the piece to figure that out. First, Bush has raised a lot of money in the areas where he has campaigned; the Sarasota visit raised $375,000 for a Congressional campaign, a rather impressive showing; the average cost of an entire Congressional campaign hovers around $2 million as of 2004. Bush raised 20% of that in one showing. He has also campaigned for George Allen, who now leads James Webb, as well as incumbents likely to win re-election such as Richard Pombo in California -- hardly a place where a Republican albatross would show up.

Once again, Bush seems to have confounded political analysts. In 2002, pundits expressed surprise that Bush would risk his standing as President by campaigning in a midterm election the Republicans were sure to lose. He went full throttle on campaign mode for that election, and voters rewarded him with clear control of the Senate and a wider margin in the House. In 2004, analysts were certain that Bush would lose in the middle of an unpopular war and were proven wrong once again, although in their defense no one expected the Democrats to pick such a poor challenger as John Kerry.

The President's approval ratings may be saging among those who are inclined to dislike him anyway, but despite the intra-party bitching lately his presence in this campaign is a plus in driving up enthusiasm throughout the base.

Posted by: Gary at 10:04 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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