The Los Angeles Times has a great piece about how skyrocketing gas prices are making GOPers gloomier than ever. And it includes this tantalizing suggestion:
In the interest of maintaining party unity, President George Bush should become President Moe.
The situation may call for Bush to step in and demand more party unity from Republican lawmakers, who have increasingly kept their distance from the White House as the president’s agenda and poll numbers have flagged.
“The president has to be like Moe Howard: At some point in every ‘Three Stooges’ short, Moe slaps both Curly and Larry and says, ‘Get to work,’ ” said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. “There’s a window of opportunity to get things done, but the window is getting smaller every day.”
And it’s not a flippant suggestion: the Times’ Janet Hook notes that Republicans will return to Congress facing more political challenges than ever before:
Just when it looked like the political climate couldn’t get worse for President Bush and the Republican Party, more storms have gathered.
This month’s abrupt rise in gas prices is fueling new worries about the party’s prospects in the fall elections, which have been roiled by controversy over GOP policies on immigration, the federal budget and Iraq.
So when Congress returns today from a spring recess, Republicans face a political landscape even more challenging than when they left town two weeks ago after failing to pass legislation that would crack down on illegal immigration and curb domestic spending.
Since then, gas prices have shot up to more than $3 a gallon in some places. Demonstrations against GOP immigration proposals have continued across the country. A poll shows Bush’s approval ratings at new lows — and the Republican-led Congress’ even lower.
“I don’t see panic setting in yet, but there’s certainly increasing concern when the president is in the 30s [in approval polls] and we’re in the 20s,” said Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.).
Even Republicans who believe the GOP will retain control of Congress are resigned to losing many seats.
“There’s not any margin for error here,” said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.). “But I also think things aren’t going to get much worse politically.”
And that’s true: how much further down can the polls go? The recent White House reshuffle that moved out Scott McClellan (speculation continues to mount that Fox News’ Tony Snow will take his place) and refocused Karl Rove on the upcoming 2006 midterm elections likely helped a bit to reassure the Republican base. But the good chunk of the base has proven to be highly loyal to the President, no matter what.
So Bush needs to transform himself to be a figure that can maintain party unity. And Moe Howard could be a good role model. Imagine the situation:
SCENE ONE: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid chats with President George Bush on immigration reform.
Reid: Mr. President the Republicans are the ones seriously blocking immigration reform.
Bush: Pick out two…(POKE!)
SCENE TWO: The Oval Office. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld brief Bush on the latest outrage from Iran. They stand right next to each other and deliver their reports.
Cheney: Mr. President, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said he’s thinking that his country might reconsider cooperating with the UN on nuclear matters. I wonder what we should do?
BUSH: Maybe you should invite him hunting…
Rumsfeld: Mr. President, in all due respect, this is no time for levity.
BUSH: Well, if my schedule’s too tight, tell Levity I’ll see him later.
Rumsfeld: No, Mr. President, I mean, we have to decide quickly. Before you know it, he’ll announce he has nukes and it’ll be too late to stop him.
BUSH: I thought you guys already had a solid plan in place? Spread out! (SLAP!)
But the suggestion that President George become President Moe underscores a problem for Bush: the perception continues to spread that he runs a weak, sloppy ship. In the case of the White House, GOPers have been clamoring for a tighter operation — even if it means bringing people who are outside the traditional Bush circle. Other Republicans have clamored for a more savvy liaison to work with Congress. And now we see this suggestion that Bush needs to smack some political heads to get his own house in political order.
And, indeed, time sure seems to be a-wasting for George Bush.
If he doesn’t either make some substantial changes or change the way he governs, on election night 2006 he may be staring at returns showing the Democratic gains in Congress, muttering: “Why, you….
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Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.