Now this is party loyalty: Nearly two out of three Republicans say they would support President Bush even if his political opponent were the father of our country.
In a theoretical matchup between George W. Bush and the other George W., George Washington, 62 percent of Republicans said they would vote for Bush and only 28 percent said they would back Gen. Washington. But because Democrats and independents went strongly for Washington, he held a healthy, 19-point advantage over Bush.
Why is George W. Bush behind Reagan, Clinton and Lincoln?
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The Presidents' Day poll -- done by the research firm Schulman, Ronca & Bucuvalas for Washington College -- applied modern opinion research to historical figures. Washington's name recognition remains strong: 91 percent knew he was the first president. And two-thirds of respondents knew the name of the first first lady, Martha. Only 12 percent rated the first president's performance in office as "below average" or "poor."
But Washington, were he to come back and join the political fray, might find it necessary to hire an image consultant. A separate poll, by the Gallup Organization, found that only 5 percent of Americans believe Washington was the greatest president, putting him two percentage points ahead of Jimmy Carter. The leaders: Reagan (20 percent), Clinton (15 percent) and Lincoln (14 percent). The current president was tied with Washington at 5 percent.
The Washington College poll provides more evidence of the woeful state of Americans' historical knowledge. Eighty-seven percent of those polled were unaware that Washington's first inauguration was in New York City -- 13 percent thought it was in yet-unborn Washington, D.C. -- and more than a quarter believed Washington lived in Monticello or had a Gettysburg address.
Justice Is Blind, Gonzales Faceless
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has been out of the White House for less than a month, and already it appears that the president has forgotten what he looks like. At Friday's White House bill signing, Bush beckoned to a Hispanic man in the front row and said: "I welcome our new attorney general." But the man in the front row was Hector V. Barreto of the Small Business Administration. Realizing something was amiss, Bush turned around and noticed the former White House counsel standing on the stage behind him. "Oh, right there," he said. "How quickly they forget in Washington. Al Gonzales. Proud you're up here, Al."
Bush then turned back to Barreto and introduced him. The quick recovery may spare Bush the embarrassment suffered by President Reagan when he greeted his housing secretary, Samuel R. Pierce Jr., as "Mr. Mayor."
Moving Shakers
Bush loyalists continue to increase their presence in the bureaucracy. At the Council of Economic Advisers, chief of staff Phillip L. Swagel, a holdover from Clinton, is to be replaced by Gary Blank, deputy policy director in the Bush reelection campaign. And White House deputy press secretary Claire Buchan, who became known in the first term for her icy relationship with the news media, becomes chief of staff to Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez. The White House had blocked Gutierrez from bringing a long-time aide with him from Kellogg Co.
In other developments involving Bush loyalists, Ralph Reed, the president's campaign adviser and former Christian Coalition director, will be a candidate for lieutenant governor of Georgia. And Ron Bonjean, the Commerce Department's director of public affairs, leaves to become communications director for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). Bonjean, who worked as press secretary to former Senate majority leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), is believed to be the first person to flack for the leaders of both chambers.
After the Spanking, a Warm Embrace
Long-standing relationship, short memory?
On Valentine's Day, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee sent a love letter to the new Democratic National Committee chairman, Howard Dean. "AIPAC has a long-standing relationship with Governor Dean," the pro-Israel lobby wrote. "We are confident that as Chair of the Democratic Party Governor Dean will carry on the party's deep and abiding commitment to a strong and unshakable relationship between the United States and Israel."
The relationship may be long-standing, but the confidence is more recent. A year-and-a-half ago, AIPAC called Dean's position on Israel "unacceptable." After Dean said the United States should not take sides in the Middle East conflict, AIPAC said U.S. policy must "be based on unequivocal support for Israel's right to exist and to be free from terror. It is unacceptable for the U.S. to be 'evenhanded' on these fundamental issues."
Styx and Stones
Speaking of Valentine correspondence, an e-mail from "Mindy and Katie" at the Republican National Committee arrived in the SundayPolitics mailbox last week with the tantalizing subject line "Off the Record."
But instead of a scoop, Off the Record turned out to be an e-mail sent to 7.5 million people promoting a new interview program by two young RNC staffers, the aforementioned Mindy and Katie. Designed to show how hip the party is, the kickoff interview was of Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) who described his music tastes: "Doobie Brothers, Styx, Journey, Boston." But in the transcript provided by those hipsters at the RNC, Thune is reported to be expressing his fondness for a band called "the Sticks." But never mind: That e-mail was Off the Record.
