PRESIDENT BUSH - AN EMBATTLED PRESIDENCY ? - THE SUNDAY COMMENTARY

Politically speaking this has been a particularly bad month and especially this past week for President Bush. To start the month the President nominated Harriet Meirs, a virtual unknown, to the Supreme Court and experienced a barrage of criticism from the conservative base, criticism that was necessary and proves the strength of conservatism. We can disagree on principle without destroying ourselves! Throughout the month the media spectacle of the pending possibility of indictments from the special prosecutor in the, "Leakgate, " case hung as a fog over every thing that concerned the White House. Then Friday the indictment of, "Scooter, " Libby, Cheney's Chief of Staff came down and the press had a field day. CNN actually created a special set and convened an, "expert," panel to cover the days happening, mostly because this left wing media outlet expected a destructive bombshell which they did not get! So with all that has happened in the month of October and record low approval ratings for the President does this signal the beginning of the end of the Bush administration and its effectiveness ? I think NOT! First let's remember what we are dealing with here. Since his election in November 2000 the left with the willing assistance of the media wing of the Democratic Party have sought to destroy the Bush Presidency through any and all means available, including forged documents. Remember good ole' Dan and his, "I stand by my story, " routine then his quick retirement from CBS ? With the exception of the week following September 11 the press has tried to portray Bush as a bumbling idiot who is the puppet of the Vice President and Karl Rove. All without much success. Every opportunity to create a, "quagmire," attitude in Iraq has also been attempted and in this the media has had ample assistance with the very Democrats who voted WITH the President to go to war in the first place based on the same information. The only information that the left in Congress and the , "mainstream, " media allows to flow from Iraq are body counts and insurgency reports. Once again to defeat the Bush Presidency. With all of this in mind this past week has still been the most difficult week from a political standpoint that Bush has experienced. Secondly let's put this in a historical perspective. Using the example of only the past three second term Presidents the second term of a Presidency is the most difficult for the sitting administration and especially the President. Watergate came to light and brought down Richard Nixon in his second term. Of course, "leakgate," has NONE of the criminal activities or ramifications of Watergate. By the way have you ever noticed that since Watergate every Presidential scandal ends with the word, "gate ?" The press living in the past as always. Now back to the subject at hand. In his second term Ronald Reagan suffered through the Iran - Contra scandal and Congressional hearings that required the testimony and resignations of many of his top aides. During Clinton's second term came his impeachment and the charges and conviction of lying to a Grand Jury. Now his second term debacle was of his own making but it did occur in the second term. I'm sure if we went further back in our history each President who served more than one term suffered through hard times in the second term. With the exception of Nixon each survived the problems and went on to complete his Presidency and most were effective, (I never considered Clinton effective in anything except embarrassing himself and the nation).

Bush is a President who consistently has followed his course and never has concerned himself with polls or popularity. He has had to overcome some of the most devastating problems of ANY President with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln who ONLY had to preserve the Union. Bush has faced 9/11, an exhausting war against the very people who seek to destroy all that we stand for. He has faced a year that has brought devastating destruction to the Gulf coast and all of this under the continual criticism of the left and the media. Let's face it the guy NEVER gets a break! In each instance the President has led the country with grace and compassion and has to a great extent taken the bull by the horns and dealt with the situation, making mistakes, but generally bringing about a good result. This current trouble will be no exception. Bush has heard his base and I believe that he will nominate a known conservative to the court and the fight on the Senate floor will ensue before his nomination is confirmed. The Libby indictment too will be overcome and Bush will continue to have an effective Presidency. He referred to just that on Friday when he commented about the Libby indictment when he said in essence that he had a job to do for the people and he was going to do it! This President has been the target of more hatred and criticism by the left and the media than any of his predecessors and has, despite the odds stacked up against him, come out on top and the nation has been the better for it. As the saying goes, "this too will pass, " and the President will continue to be the effective leader that he has been doing, "the people's business."

Ken Taylor