Nofziger Why Bush Is In Trouble

I think George Bush is in trouble. How much, of course, depends on whom the Democrats nominate and how that guy runs his campaign. You’re never in isolation on these things. If it were just George Bush out there, he’d be in serious trouble, but he’s lucky because he gets to run against somebody.

He’s in trouble because these guys over at the White House don’t understand the American people. They never had to worry about a job, and they don’t understand people who have to really worry about a job. As a result, they came at this matter of the economy rather casually. Another part of their problem is they’ve picked people to run a campaign who haven’t ever run campaigns, I have high regard for Bob Teeter, but he’s never run a campaign. They need more people who’ve been down there rolling around on the ground and getting their hands dirty. What I’ve seen over there are signs of panic.

They have done so many things I didn’t think were very bright. Somehow they’ve got to get him back on a pedestal where presidents belong. You can’t send the president out to buy socks. They’ve got to get him back up on a level where he’s doing and saying things that are presidential. They’ve had him out there trying too hard to be one of us, and there’s nothing wrong with not being one of us. The American people are getting more sophisticated about these sorts of things.

I’ve been saying for weeks the best thing the president could do for his campaign is fire Dick Darman. That would send a message that the president’s finally begun to understand he’s got to do something about the situation in the country. I’d make him ambassador to New Zealand.

Somehow or other, Bush has to figure out how to make himself viewed as the leader who’s leading this country out of its problems. He’s got to quit being apologetic. He’s got to go out and say we’re not a country who quits and we’re gonna fight our way out of this thing. The president is earnest and sincere, but he doesn’t seem to have the kind of personality that motivates people, and that means he’s got to have some other things go right for him.

It’s not very smart to keep talking about the war. Desert Storm was a nice victory for the president. But you can’t go out and talk about a two-bit war in which you beat a Third World country with 19 million people and an army that doesn’t want to fight and act like that’s the reason you ought to be re-elected president-especially when the leader of that two-bit country still sits on his throne. If I were Pat Buchanan, I’d say, “How come Saddam Hussein is still there?” They’re trying to turn it into a leadership issue, but it led to a dead end.

Buchanan can’t be nominated. But what he can do is build himself the best base any conservative has and look to taking over the party in 1996 if Bush wins and sooner if Bush loses. He’s the only guy who had the guts to go out there, and he’s saying things that people want to hear, I would tell him to beat up on the president for refusing to debate him, and if I were the president, I wouldn’t go near a debate. Pat’s in that great position where he can say anything he wants. The candidate who can’t win can afford to tell the truth; that applies to Tsongas as well.

The president has the advantage of controlling the Republican establishment at every level. I speak from the knowledge of 1976. Reagan was a better candidate than Pat, and he had the advantage of having more experienced people around him than Pat has. And Bush is a better candidate than Ford. Reagan also started off with a base as governor of the biggest state. We knew that unless we really screwed up, we could beat Ford in California and go to the convention with that delegation. Our biggest problem was that at every level the Republican establishment fights you. The president has organization in every damn state, and you have to start from scratch.

I’ll tell you one thing about George Bush. He’s a bulldog, He hangs in there. Everybody thinks he’s dying, and he keeps on fighting. He’s not gonna be an easy guy to beat. My gut tells me that if there’s a spirit of optimism restored in the country, he’s gonna be re-elected. If [not], people will look for somebody (else] to turn things around.

title: “Nofziger Why Bush Is In Trouble” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-08” author: “Bob Morse”

I think George Bush is in trouble. How much, of course, depends on whom the Democrats nominate and how that guy runs his campaign. You’re never in isolation on these things. If it were just George Bush out there, he’d be in serious trouble, but he’s lucky because he gets to run against somebody.

He’s in trouble because these guys over at the White House don’t understand the American people. They never had to worry about a job, and they don’t understand people who have to really worry about a job. As a result, they came at this matter of the economy rather casually. Another part of their problem is they’ve picked people to run a campaign who haven’t ever run campaigns, I have high regard for Bob Teeter, but he’s never run a campaign. They need more people who’ve been down there rolling around on the ground and getting their hands dirty. What I’ve seen over there are signs of panic.

They have done so many things I didn’t think were very bright. Somehow they’ve got to get him back on a pedestal where presidents belong. You can’t send the president out to buy socks. They’ve got to get him back up on a level where he’s doing and saying things that are presidential. They’ve had him out there trying too hard to be one of us, and there’s nothing wrong with not being one of us. The American people are getting more sophisticated about these sorts of things.

I’ve been saying for weeks the best thing the president could do for his campaign is fire Dick Darman. That would send a message that the president’s finally begun to understand he’s got to do something about the situation in the country. I’d make him ambassador to New Zealand.

Somehow or other, Bush has to figure out how to make himself viewed as the leader who’s leading this country out of its problems. He’s got to quit being apologetic. He’s got to go out and say we’re not a country who quits and we’re gonna fight our way out of this thing. The president is earnest and sincere, but he doesn’t seem to have the kind of personality that motivates people, and that means he’s got to have some other things go right for him.

It’s not very smart to keep talking about the war. Desert Storm was a nice victory for the president. But you can’t go out and talk about a two-bit war in which you beat a Third World country with 19 million people and an army that doesn’t want to fight and act like that’s the reason you ought to be re-elected president-especially when the leader of that two-bit country still sits on his throne. If I were Pat Buchanan, I’d say, “How come Saddam Hussein is still there?” They’re trying to turn it into a leadership issue, but it led to a dead end.

Buchanan can’t be nominated. But what he can do is build himself the best base any conservative has and look to taking over the party in 1996 if Bush wins and sooner if Bush loses. He’s the only guy who had the guts to go out there, and he’s saying things that people want to hear, I would tell him to beat up on the president for refusing to debate him, and if I were the president, I wouldn’t go near a debate. Pat’s in that great position where he can say anything he wants. The candidate who can’t win can afford to tell the truth; that applies to Tsongas as well.

The president has the advantage of controlling the Republican establishment at every level. I speak from the knowledge of 1976. Reagan was a better candidate than Pat, and he had the advantage of having more experienced people around him than Pat has. And Bush is a better candidate than Ford. Reagan also started off with a base as governor of the biggest state. We knew that unless we really screwed up, we could beat Ford in California and go to the convention with that delegation. Our biggest problem was that at every level the Republican establishment fights you. The president has organization in every damn state, and you have to start from scratch.

I’ll tell you one thing about George Bush. He’s a bulldog, He hangs in there. Everybody thinks he’s dying, and he keeps on fighting. He’s not gonna be an easy guy to beat. My gut tells me that if there’s a spirit of optimism restored in the country, he’s gonna be re-elected. If [not], people will look for somebody (else] to turn things around.