The more likely explanation was that Bush, shaken by his disastrous slide in the polls, was retreating to foreign-policy issues in hopes of shoring up his presidency. Sure enough, his approval rating rebounded slightly through the week, a fact that many attributed to his return to Iraqibashing. But there was conflict among his advisers and the political price was high. In leading his divided party to a budget deal no one seemed to like, and in then abandoning his own election strategy, Bush had clearly weakened his claim to leadership in the next session of Congress. Worse, his performance in recent days had revived all the old doubts–that he lacks “the vision thing,” that he is perhaps only a mediocre politician, or that he is somehow indecisive. “It’s very simple,” a senior aide said. “He has to decide what he believes in.”
One thing everyone seemed to agree on was that Bush’s White House staffers–especially John Sununu, the chief of staff–were in over their heads. Sununu, along with budget director Richard Darman, was widely blamed within Republican circles for leading Bush into the disastrous deficit talks with the Democrats. Sununu was also responsible for the “attack” strategy Bush used last week-a lame, tinny attempt to pin the deficit deal on the Democrats that made Bush sound squeaky rather than tough. In the aftermath, White House sources said, Sununu was blaming his subordinates, his subordinates were blaming Sununu and the White House staff’s morale had sunk to an all-time low. “I think Sununu’s got to go,” one source said. “The critics were right when they said he didn’t understand Washington…. He will never be able to deal with Congress again.”
Bush had no intention of dumping Sununu, and Barbara Bush called NEWSWEEK to squelch the “unbelievable rumors” about her husband’s chief of staff. “I am very, very fond of John Sununu,” Mrs. Bush said. “George thinks he’s wonderful and so do I. I have absolute confidence in him.” The president, she added, would blame himself if anyone were to be blamed. But, she said, she had “been around long enough to know that you always get ups and downs. We’re going to just do our thing, and we’ll be fine.”
Others at the White House took a sterner view. “You don’t drop 30 points in the polls without realizing somebody has really screwed up,” one insider said. Another said Bush knew he had “lost control” during the deficit negotiations and that he would not “give his presidency away to Sununu again.” As a result, sources said, Bush called in two trusted GOP strategists, polltaker Robert Teeter and media expert Roger Ailes. They told him to drop Sununu’s attack strategy, quit talking about the budget, emphasize the Persian Gulf and, above all, “to start being presidential again.”
The abrupt shift in Bush’s campaign rhetoric last week showed Ailes and Teeter were being listened to, and some speculated that Teeter would join the White House staff. Other changes may follow: Secretary of Transportation Samuel Skinner, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and even GOP strategist Edward Rollins were mentioned for White House jobs. The speculation about Rollins was patently absurd, since Rollins had infuriated Bush by advising Republicans to distance themselves from the president. Barbara Bush, asked what she thought about Rollins, coyly deadpanned, “I can’t hear you.”
But the real questions about the Bush presidency go far beyond the rumored staff shakeup. Although Bush’s slump in the polls may well be temporary, the likelihood of recession and the possibility of war or stalemate in the Persian Gulf pose genuine threats to his political future. Bush may benefit from better advice–but he will also need inspiration and luck.
