It is never about him

The latest Gallup/USA Today poll is out. In it, President Bush hits an all-time personal low of 29%. These numbers are startling, yet what is equally as surprising, is the explanation given by Gallup for why the numbers are so low:

At this point, the public's view of the president has been affected to one degree or the other by the conflict in Iraq, his support for the now-aborted immigration bill, the Scooter Libby sentence commutation, and the negative way in which the public views the economy.

The part that is curiously absent here is any mention of the man himself. The reason for the bad poll numbers always seem to be related to certain circumstances surrounding his presidency, NOT his own personal leadership style or personality. That never enters the equation when evaluating Bush; for whatever reason, the idea that people do not like him or that they believe he is a horrible leader is simply outside the realm of possibility. Yet, I get the sense that it is these evaluations which are driving these numbers.

This became clear to me when I was talking to my grandmother, back in late 2002. Like all grandmothers, she is very sweet and never has a bad thing to say about anyone; but while we were watching TV, Bush came on the screen. Without any hesitation, she looked at the screen and exclaimed:

I hate that asshole.

Nuff said.