White House Under Siege: A Lomblog Special Report

It was a stunningly bad week for President Bush - perhaps the worst of his presidency since the week before. On Tuesday, American military fatalies in Iraq reached the 2,000 mark. On Thursday, his initial choice for the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers, withdrew after shocking revelations that she may have once held opinions. On Friday, CIA leak investigator Patrick Fitzgerald indicted White House advisor Lewis "Scooter" Libby on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements, severely testing the Administration doctrine of "preemptive treason." Meanwhile, the president's poll numbers continue to shrivel up like Rafael Palmiero's testicles.

It's all enough for some commentators to dub this a White House Under Siege.



Now, before I continue with this post, let me apologize to Karl Rove for his inclusion in the above graphic. It was completed before Friday's announcement by the special prosecutor. As Mr. Rove's lawyers are at pains to point out, he is not actually "under siege" but merely "under investigation." Of course, this does not preclude the possibility that he may eventually face besiegement. But for now, Mr. Rove is - legally speaking - happier than a pig in feces.

But on to the issue at hand. President Bush is currently receiving a lot of unsolicited advice from the pundits. Some have suggested he could revive his presidency by shaking up the White House staff, admitting mistakes, reaching out to the center, governing competently and other drastic steps. All I can say is: these people don't know George W. Bush like I know George W. Bush. He is not to be underestimated. He still has more than three years left in his term - more than enough time to come back without doing anything to rattle that third of Americans who will still support him no matter how objectively poor his performance in office.

Honestly, I don't believe the president's political situation is that dire. Already, we are seeing signs of his recovery. The religious right was angered by the Miers pick but have rallied behind the Bush's latest selection, Samuel Alito. Of course, he was not the first choice of pro-life social conservatives; that was Justice Patriarchal McBan O'Bortion. Evidently, ethnic politics elevated the Italian Catholic over the Irishman. But once again, Republicans are showcasing their solidarity with the unborn, both through the court fight and by the increasing number of them actually in the fetal position.

As for the Plame affair, that so far seems a minor distraction at best. The accusations against Libby are nothing to sneeze at, but still, the novelist & neocon avoided prosecution on more serious charges like violating the Espionage Act or killing Natalee Holloway.

You also have to consider the opposition. Oh brother, are they a mess! Sure, theoretically, the Democrats stand to gain a lot of ground. But the party's leadership - Pelosi, Reid, Kanye West - lack both a positive agenda and a headline-grabbing set of indictments. Nearly a year into the president's second term, they still refuse to spell out how they would do things differently - ie. which cronies they would appoint to important positions; how they would cover up the leak of a clandestine agent; what natural disasters they would ignore etc. Is it any wonder they've been rendered all but irrelevant?

Finally, time is on the president's side. The congressional elections are not for another year - several lifetimes in American politics. Lifetimes in which, for instance, millions of Democratic voters could be killed by untreated bird flu. Yes, George W. Bush can make a comeback but only if he follows his own advice and stays the course. If he ignores the naysayers, buckles down, steels himself and doesn't watch any TV except for fishing shows on TNN, he won't ever have to learn that people don't like him. This, I believe, is his road back. If he takes it, it won't be long before "W." once again stands for "Winner" instead of "WTF Has Gone Wrong Now?"