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 Recent commentary from National Journal: Legal Affairs: The Case for Curbing Civil Rights (May 8, 2001) There's something to be said for using the 1964 Civil Rights Act to combat real discrimination, not imagined bias. By Stuart Taylor Jr. Social Studies: Koizumi Brings Japan to the Brink—But of What? (May 8, 2001) If Japan's new leader bungles this chance to resolve the banking mess, the next opportunity may come too late. By Jonathan Rauch Media: Triangulation, Again (May 8, 2001) Bush's boringness isn't boring at all—or it shouldn't be to pressies who aren't dozing at their keyboards. By William Powers Legal Affairs: Psst! Pass It On. The Successor To Rehnquist Will Be ... (May 2, 2001) One scenario has O'Connor becoming Chief Justice. Another scenario has Bush picking Breyer for the post. By Stuart Taylor Jr. Media: Thanking Our Stars (May 2, 2001) If we really want to be sophisticated about our ever-evolving media, we should revise how we think about famous people and their increasingly visible role in our lives. By William Powers On Books: Meg Greenfield's Song of Regret (May 2, 2001) In our new book review section, William Powers takes a tour of Meg Greenfield's Washington. By William Powers More from National Journal. |
Political Pulse 
The 'Vision Thing' Isn't a ProblemPresident Bush's ideological coherence has apparently impressed the American people. by William Schneider ..... One hundred days into his Administration, President Bush gets three very different ratings: from the American public, excellent; from Congress, fair; from the rest of the world, poor. Americans give Bush a 62 percent job-approval rating, according to the Gallup Poll. That's a little higher than the 57 percent he started with just after his inauguration. And it is considerably higher than the 48 percent of the vote he won in November. Bush's 100-day rating with the public is not quite as high as Ronald Reagan's (67 percent), Dwight Eisenhower's (74 percent), or John F. Kennedy's (77 percent), each of whom had powerful charismatic appeal. But 100-day ratings don't necessarily predict much. Jimmy Carter had a high rating after 100 days (63 percent), but got fired after one term. Bill Clinton's first 100 days were marred by controversies over his Cabinet appointments, gays in the military, and his call for a tax increase. By May 1993, Clinton's job-approval rating had dropped to 45 percent. But the Comeback Kid nevertheless managed to get re-elected. President Bush's ideological coherence has apparently impressed the American people. Just one-third of Americans describe Bush as "too conservative." Remember all the problems the elder President Bush had with "the vision thing"? It's not a problem for the younger Bush. Three-quarters of Americans say the new President "has a vision for the country's future." It's his top-rated personal quality, followed by "can get things done," "tough enough for the job," "honest and trustworthy," and "a strong and decisive leader." Somewhat lower on the list of personal qualities were what might be called the "Clintonian virtues": empathy ("cares about the needs of people like you") and intellect ("understands complex issues," "inspires confidence"). Most dangerous for Bush is the popular perception that big business has too much influence over his decisions (63 percent agree). Bush has the same potential vulnerability his father had. If the economy goes into recession, people are likely to see him as a rich guy out of touch with ordinary Americans. Republicans always run that risk when they elect Presidents born to wealth and privilege. The President gets his top job-approval ratings on defense, foreign affairs, and education. His approval rating in all those areas is above 55 percent. He gets satisfactory ratings (just more than 50 percent) on economic issues (the economy, taxes, and the budget). His worst subjects? The environment, abortion, and energy—issues where his conservative positions are most controversial. The President's strong suit right now is foreign affairs. Is that a reflection of his father's reputation? Possibly. But it's also because of the new President's calm and firm resolution of the China standoff. His approach won the approval of 71 percent of Americans. Is there much lingering resentment of the U.S. apology to China? Nope. By 2-to-1, the public says the United States was the "winner" of the showdown. Congress is less generous in its assessment of the new President. Republicans have criticized him for being disengaged from the legislative process, while Democrats say his bipartisan overtures are all for show. "President Bush is very friendly," Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., told The New York Times. "Many of his policies have been less so." A particular cause of resentment is Bush's attempt to pressure wavering legislators by going to their states to push his program. A sign of that resentment is that many Democrats did not show up for a White House luncheon last Monday to celebrate the President's first 100 days. As for the rest of the world, the indications are that Bush has created new anxiety about American policy, which now involves less consultation, more unilateralism. At a conference at the University of Oxford last month, a group of political intellectuals—not all on the left—were asked to comment on Bush's image overseas after 100 days. The question was followed by a brief silence. Then one of them blurted out, "Appalling!" Another remarked that Bush was widely seen as "a swaggering bully who got in by a cheat." They noted that Bush is often parodied in the foreign press as a ridiculous man, unqualified for the job—"another Dan Quayle." Simply the prejudice of "the chattering class"? Apparently not. A poll by Gallup U.K. reports that most people in Britain (51 percent) have an unfavorable opinion of Bush, while only 26 percent have a positive opinion. One issue has had huge repercussions overseas: Bush's repudiation of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. That issue is taken far more seriously in Europe than in this country. Europeans were shocked when Bush said he would not do anything that might damage the U.S. economy. That sounded to the rest of the world like "America First." For Americans, the issue was mainly that the President reneged on his campaign pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Europeans got a different message: "Bush to World: Drop Dead!" Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has become an immensely reassuring figure to the rest of the world. Comparing Bush with Clinton, Dominique Moisi of the French Institute of International Relations made this revealing comment to The Washington Post: "Individually, the present team is probably more competent than the previous one. With the exception of the President."
What do you think? Discuss this article in the Politics & Society conference of Post & Riposte. More from National Journal. More on politics and society in Atlantic Unbound and The Atlantic Monthly. William Schneider is the Cable News Network's senior political analyst. He is also a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and a contributing editor for the Los Angeles Times, National Journal, and The Atlantic Monthly. His column appears every week in National Journal, a weekly magazine covering politics and government published in Washington, D.C. For information on National Journal Group publications, see NationalJournal.com. Copyright © 2001 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved. | [an error occurred while processing this directive] | ||
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