Bill O'Reilly
Forecast for the GOP: Dark
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
The Republican Party is in trouble. Deep, dark trouble. The
off-year election a few days ago clearly demonstrated that many folks have
had it with the Grand Old Party. And more storm clouds are on the horizon.
The fact that the bright red state of Virginia elected a
Democrat governor, and the citizens of New Jersey elevated an ultra-liberal
like Jon Corzine to the top spot, signal a major turn to the left in
America. The Republican establishment should be afraid, very afraid, and it
can forget about even competing in California; the nation's largest state
even voted down parental notification for minors having an abortion. If
you're a California girl, you can't get a tattoo without parental
permission, but you can abort a fetus. Welcome to the secular paradise.
The Republican problem is a President Bush problem. So far he
has vastly underperformed in his second term, and no spin in the world is
going to mitigate that. Either the president improves his standing with the
public, or next year at this time, the Democrats will regain control of
Congress and Mr. Bush's power will turn into the ghost of Christmas past.
The Bush/GOP woes lie in three major areas:
- The public largely does not understand the importance of
Iraq. With the elite media lined up against the conflict and casualties
mounting every day, the folks simply don't know what's going on and why the
sacrifice is necessary. The president hasn't been able to spell it out.
- We, the people, are teed off over exploding gas and oil
prices. Nobody warned us, nobody explained. Americans are known to vote with
their wallets, and Mr. Bush better get a handle on this situation or he's
done. Record profits for Exxon while working Americans bleed are not going
to drive any president's popularity.
- And finally, the presidency is a performance business, and performance is largely defined by the economy and the media. Outside of high energy prices, the economy is still good. But the media is pounding President Bush into pudding. He must fight back against that pounding. If he does not engage the negative media, it will overwhelm him. Mr. Bush needs to take his case directly to the people in terms everybody understands.
While some nutty partisans hate President Bush with a passion
that rivals other nutty partisans' hatred of Bill Clinton, most Americans
continue to like the president as a person, the polls show. So he can come
back.
But it will take determination and changes. The Bush
administration needs new blood and viable solutions to Iraq, energy, illegal
immigration and enormous government spending.
No question Mr. Bush has lost his mojo but, like Austin Powers,
he can recapture it. However, there are more than a few lurking Dr. Evils
that Mr. Bush will have to defeat. Interesting bet as to whether he'll be
able to do it.
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JWR contributor Bill O'Reilly is host of the
Fox News show, "The O'Reilly Factor," and author
of, most recently, "Who's Looking Out for You?" Comments by clicking here.
