The Dow set yet another record today. And the unemployment rate remains at 4.4%. Ponder this for a moment. This means that of all the people who can work in this country, 95.6% have jobs. 95.6%. Seriously, think about that.
Hannity and others say that if it wasn't for Iraq, Bush's poll numbers would easily be in the high 60s right now (around where Clinton's were at this point in his 2nd term). But I don't necessarily agree with this, because I think the press would still find a way to downplay the current state of things (i.e., gas prices) and the administration, as usual, would fail to produce an effective response.
When we pick a candidate to run in the next election, we need someone who can communicate and sell the message effectively. This has by far been Bush's biggest weakness. In the 90s, every time the Dow broke new records, Clinton would go on TV, take credit for it, eloquently explain how great things currently were, and then take a few questions. The current president rarely does this, and even when he tries he just ends up stuttering a lot, which only serves as late-night John Stewart fodder.
Both Reagan and Clinton proved how important the power of the pulpit was. And the good news about the '08 GOP field is most of the contenders are effective speakers. Now if they can just find backbones.
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