The Great Non-Communicator

Dean Barnett on President Bush's greatest flaw, and how it hurts the war effort:

“The Non-Communicator” will probably be closer to the mark. Check out the latest Rasmussen tracking polls after the President’s speech. The President spoke to the nation, and his numbers went right into the toilet. Usually presidents get a bounce when they directly address the public. Not this one. And don’t take the easy way out and blame everything on a hostile media or stubborn Democrats. The media’s always hostile and the opposition is always stubborn. It’s not like Ronald Reagan had Sam Donaldson and Tip O’Neill eating out of his hand.

When the President speaks, the American people turn off. It’s that simple. After six years, the country has tired of his shtick. While there may come a time between now and the end of the President’s term when the country once again becomes grateful to have an Oval Office occupant with his better characteristics (steadfastness, resolve, determination), his inability to win domestic hearts and minds is at this moment a fixed part of the political landscape.

THE KILLER IS THE PRESIDENT IS RIGHT, and his opponents are very wrong. Failure in Iraq would be disastrous. And in regards to Iran, there’s been a war going on with the Iranians for 27 years now, even though we’ve yet to fire an offensive shot. Bush’s political opponents either genuinely think we can withdraw from that part of the world without consequence, or they cravenly seek the political advantage they think they’ll reap from a failed war effort.

Either way, the sad fact is we’re getting killed in the war on ideas. The surge is obviously unpopular, and the majority of the American people want to end the Iraqi war, with or without victory, as soon as possible.

The bottom line: having the right policy, the right vision, and the right strategy for execution is not enough to bring strategic victory in a democracy. One must be able to communicate all three effectively to the public.

Americans want to win, and are willing to make sacrifices (in the real sense, not in the Democrat "we just want to raise taxes" sense) so long as they understand what we're aiming to achieve.

What we have very little tolerance for is muddy thinking and flag-draped coffins, a lethal combination which cost tens of thousands of American lives in Vietnam. THAT's the syndrome most of us worry about, not casualties per se or how long victory takes.

As a businessman, Bush has no excuse for not understanding that crisp goals and easy-to-comprehend success metrics are the key to any endeavor. As a politician, Bush has no excuse for not finding a way to communicate this effectively to Americans. As Commander-in-Chief, Bush has a solemn duty to the men and women he's sending into harm's way to do this.