Bush's political woes

Below we discussed how many of the kingpins who made George W. Bush may be facing legal troubles. Today John Whitesides of Reuters talks about the problems that Bush himself is facing in Bush's political woes stretch beyond Katrina.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President George W. Bush's mounting political woes extend far beyond Hurricane Katrina's fallout, with high gas prices, low public confidence and growing opposition to the Iraq war rivaling the storm controversy as long-term threats.

Bush's approval rating, battered in the last few weeks by criticism over a slow and ineffectual early response to the storm, was slumping well before the hurricane ravaged the U.S. Gulf Coast, pollsters said.

"It's a mistake to assume that somehow this is a short-term problem caused by Katrina. This is just a continuation of the track he's been on since January," said Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup poll.

Bush's slide in the polls has been driven by deepening doubts about the Iraq war and pessimism about the economy, the two issues consistently chosen by voters as the most important to them, he said.

The economy will be further damaged by first Katrina and now Rita. Iraq has fallen from the news but the situation there continues to deteriorate and it will return to the news soon. Even the Republicans realize Bush is in trouble.

Given his weakened position, some Republicans say, Bush needs a quick turnaround to save legislative priorities like the overhaul of Social Security, tax cut extensions and repeal of the estate tax.

"In terms of defining this presidency, the next several months are critical," said Republican pollster David Winston, adding that Bush needs to show real progress on the economy, the Iraq War and the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast.

"All three represent significant challenges. All three could go the wrong way for him, or all three could go the right way," Winston said.

The problem for Bush is the situation in Iraq is not something he has any control over and the same can be said about the economy. A majority of Americans are discovering the Bush "recovery" was not much of a recovery for them.

To make matters worse Robert Novak reports that even the rich people who have benefited during the Bush recovery are turning against him.

ASPEN, Colo. -- For two full days, President Bush was bashed. He was taken to task on his handling of stem cell research, population control, the Iraq war and, especially, Hurricane Katrina. The critics were no left-wing bloggers. They were rich, mainly Republican and presumably Bush voters in the last two presidential elections.