After a week spent manhandling the Chinese President and kicking ScottMcClellan to the curb, The Decider finally got around to downsizing his brain. Karl Rove is giving up his policy role to focus on politics, a distinction without a difference in this White House.
With even Fox News reporting Bush's poll numbers (33 percent) threatening tofall below the Nixon line (28 percent), the best thing Bush could do for hisbeloved Republican majority is decide to resign. Or failing that, sincehe fails at almost everything he tries to do, Bush could simply fireRove the way the CIA fired Mary McCarthy. After all if Ms. McCarthy wasfired for a 'pattern' of inappropriate contact with reporters, thensurely Rove deserves the boot. Everything he does is inappropriate.
Instead we've learned that the Bolten recovery plan to bump up Bush'snumbers includes extending the tax cut for capital gains and stockdividends and more tours of the country to "brag" about the strength ofthe economy. This makes a certain amount of sense, since the onlyAmericans who will be able to afford a tank of gas to go see thepresident will be those who are rich enough to be affected by the taxcut on stocks.
Katrina vanden Heuvel
After a week spent manhandling the Chinese President and kicking ScottMcClellan to the curb, The Decider finally got around to downsizing his brain. Karl Rove is giving up his policy role to focus on politics, a distinction without a difference in this White House.
With even Fox News reporting Bush’s poll numbers (33 percent) threatening tofall below the Nixon line (28 percent), the best thing Bush could do for hisbeloved Republican majority is decide to resign. Or failing that, sincehe fails at almost everything he tries to do, Bush could simply fireRove the way the CIA fired Mary McCarthy. After all if Ms. McCarthy wasfired for a ‘pattern’ of inappropriate contact with reporters, thensurely Rove deserves the boot. Everything he does is inappropriate.
Instead we’ve learned that the Bolten recovery plan to bump up Bush’snumbers includes extending the tax cut for capital gains and stockdividends and more tours of the country to “brag” about the strength ofthe economy. This makes a certain amount of sense, since the onlyAmericans who will be able to afford a tank of gas to go see thepresident will be those who are rich enough to be affected by the taxcut on stocks.
Oh, and one more thing. The Bushies want to regain their securitycredibility by threatening Iran with war.
The White House can shuffle all it wants, but we’ve seen this dancebefore.
Katrina vanden HeuvelTwitterKatrina vanden Heuvel is editorial director and publisher of The Nation, America’s leading source of progressive politics and culture. She served as editor of the magazine from 1995 to 2019.