Bush crisis response gets a good rating

President’s task likened to the problems President Roosevelt faced.

By: Jeff Milgram
   To restore the confidence of a nation shaken by the worst terrorist attack in its history, President George Bush must project an image of courage, self-confidence and the ability to inspire and energize the public, a presidential expert at Princeton University says.
   And despite President Bush’s mediocre communications skills, he’s doing a good job, said Fred Greenstein, professor in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the author of "The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to Clinton."
   "Bush did the right things by speaking from the Oval Office" on Tuesday night, Dr. Greenstein said. By addressing the nation from the White House, rather than from another location, he came across as presidential and in command, he said.
   Dr. Greenstein compared President Bush’s task to the problems President Roosevelt faced, rallying the country during the Great Depression. He also likened the impact of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon to the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
   Dr. Greenstein suggested that although President Bush lacked President Roosevelt’s communications skills, he nonetheless has been able to bring the country together.
   "People are getting behind the president. He’s doing a good job," Dr. Greenstein said.
   He said President Bush’s image was helped by a photo taken after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting that showed the president flanked by two men with reputations for strength and toughness, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
   He also said President Bush came across as empathetic and concerned during a visit to the Pentagon.
   President Bush also is coming across as a strong leader internationally, being able to win NATO support for any retaliatory strikes against the terrorists, Dr. Greenstein said.
   Polls taken after his speech Tuesday will show a sharp increase in President Bush’s approval rating, he predicted.
   According to a Gallup Poll conducted before President Bush’s address, 45 percent of the respondents were "very confident" in his ability to handle the situation, 33 percent were somewhat confident, 11 percent "not too confident" and 7 percent were "not confident at all." No poll was taken after the speech, a Gallup spokeswoman said Thursday.
   A poll conducted before the speech by Ipsos-Reid gave President Bush higher marks, with 64 percent expressing confidence in his ability to handle the crisis.
   The Gallup Poll showed that 92 percent of all Americans supported a military strike against the terrorists and only 4 percent opposed, with 71 percent wanting to wait until those responsible were identified.
   Dr. Greenstein predicted that President Bush will use his popularity to pursue his agenda more vigorously, which his father did not do after the Gulf War.
   He predicted that the support for President Bush will spill over into his relations with Congress and he will be able to "do things he couldn’t do before," such as using Social Security funds, building a missile defense shield and improving airport security.
   Dr. Greenstein suggested that the president will receive widespread bipartisan support for retaliatory strikes — support his father didn’t have in the months leading up to the Gulf War.
   If President Bush can be faulted, it would be over his failure to speak to the country before he returned to Washington on Tuesday night, Dr. Greenstein said. A speech then would have shown that he was firmly in charge and that the government of the United States hadn’t been "beheaded" by the attack, Dr. Greenstein said.