Liver. It's What's For Dinner.

By Jan A. Larson


When I was a youngster, my mother's "job approval rating"
pretty much correlated to whatever she served for dinner.
Spaghetti? Her approval numbers went through the roof. Liver?
Not so much.

There were plenty of times that I didn't approve of my mother's
decisions and I'm sure there were times when she would have
preferred that she could take the course that would have met
with my approval, but my best interests were not always aligned
with my wants.

President Bush's job approval ratings are at historic lows. To at
least some extent, I believe the President suffers from the "liver
syndrome."

There is a segment of the population that wouldn't approve of
the President's job performance if they had spaghetti for dinner
every night. The liver eaters that still think that Al Gore should
be sitting in the Oval Office or that John Kerry would have
produced untold prosperity in America will never give the
President a positive job approval rating.

Another factor in the President's low popularity ratings is that
most Americans need instant gratification. When they don't get
what they want or believe they deserve right now, they complain
like children to their mothers.

The war in Iraq, certainly, has not provided instant gratification.
Would it have been better to give Saddam Hussein the benefit of
the doubt with respect to WMDs and his intentions to use or
deliver them? Would it have been better to wait until one of his
sons had taken the helm of his ruthless regime? When will it all
be over and we won't have to hear about it and think about it any
more?

Those questions are for another time, but given that they remain
unanswered and the news (only the bad news since that is the
only kind of news that makes news) from Iraq pours in on a
daily basis, people are tired of it and just wish it would go away.
Why won't the President make it all go away? Bush is doing a
bad job. More liver.

Hurricane Katrina? Despite the assertions of some that believe
he not only ordered the New Orleans levees to be blown up but
also orchestrated the hurricane itself, there was really little the
President personally could do to change the situation, FEMA
administration notwithstanding. Nevertheless, another poor job
by Bush. Pass the liver.

The economy is growing at an annual rate of nearly four percent
but that isn't enough to score any points for the President. No
spaghetti tonight.

The failed nomination of Harriet Miers to the U. S. Supreme
Court certainly didn't help the President's popularity and the
President has also disappointed his base supporters on the
subjects of border security, entitlement spending (and
government spending in general) and his failure to get Social
Security reform off the ground. Not liver again!

Throw in the over-hyped Plame/Libby fiasco and high fuel
prices and there are plenty of reasons for anyone looking for a
reason to say he or she doesn't like how the man at the top is
doing his job. It seems that no matter what President Bush does,
it is liver for dinner for the American public.

Fortunately for the President, it is possible to turn the approval
ratings around. The confirmation of Samuel Alito to the
Supreme Court will help. So would some real tax reform and
continued progress in Iraq (although it is difficult to hear of
progress in Iraq). Hurricane season is over and energy prices are
falling. Now, Mr. President, how about some spaghetti?


Copyright (c)2005 Jan A. Larson All rights reserved.
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Jan A. Larson publishes a weekly commentary, "What is the
Deal?" at the Pie of Knowledge
(http://www.pieofknowledge.com). His work also appears on
OpinionEditorials, American Daily, ChronWatch, The
Conservative Voice, Capitol Hill Coffee House and NewsBull.