A Civil Question

Plus, Gosselin writes: "In Bush's case, arguing for more schooling draws particular fire from some educators, because the administration's record of providing money to support the kind of training he advocates has been weak."

Here's the transcript of Bush's talk in India. "People do lose jobs as a result of globalization, and it's painful for those who lose jobs. But the fundamental question is, how does a government or society react to that," he said.

Bush's answer: "Let's make sure people are educated so they can find -- fill the jobs of the 21st century. And let's make sure that there's pro-growth economic policies in place. What does that mean? That means low taxes; it means less regulation; it means fewer lawsuits; it means wise energy policy."

And here, by the way, is Krugman's response: "O.K., so you're a 50-year-old worker whose job has just been outsourced, and Mr. Bush tells you that you should go get a 21st-century education and rejoice in the joys of a lawsuit-free economy. Uh-huh."

Poll Watch

Richard Morin writes in The Washington Post that, in contrast to some other national polls, The Washington Post/ABC News poll found Bush's job approval rating at 41 percent, essentially unchanged from January.

Here are the poll results .

Incidentally, a reader alerted me to the fact that in my item yesterday on Vice President Cheney's ratings, I compared apples and oranges -- or rather, job approval ratings and favorable ratings.

My point was that Cheney's much-mocked 18 percent favorability ratings in the CBS News poll might turn out to be a statistical outlier.

And according to the new Post poll, Cheney's favorability is at 41 percent, with 56 percent having an unfavorable impression. That's actually a higher favorable rating than his all-time low of 35 in The Post poll in March 2004. But back then, only 43 percent of Americans had an unfavorable opinion of him; 23 percent had no opinion. Now, only 4 percent have no opinion.

And a new Gallup Poll finds Cheney's hunting accident having no significant effect on his job approval rating: "Forty percent of Americans approve of the way Cheney is handling his job, compared with a 41 percent rating prior to the accident. Cheney's approval rating is now two points higher than President George W. Bush's rating, the first time this has happened since the 9/11 terrorist attacks."

A new Zogby poll finds Bush's job approval dipping slightly to 38 percent, down from 40 percent two weeks ago.

Brett Kavanaugh Watch

Emma Schwartz writes for the Legal Times that Senate Democrats are girding for a knock-down, drag-out fight over White House staff secretary Brett M. Kavanaugh's nomination as a D.C. Circuit Court judge.

Kavanaugh was first nominated in 2003, but blocked by Democrats. Bush renominated him in January.

Kavanaugh, who is married to Bush's former personal secretary, is responsible for every piece of paper that lands on Bush's desk. But that's not why Democrats hate him so.

As Schwartz writes: "Kavanaugh's conservative credentials are etched indelibly into his résumé. In fact, he's something of the Zelig of young Republican lawyers. A protégé of independent counsel Kenneth Starr, he was a key figure in the Whitewater investigation."

He also co-wrote the Starr Report on the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Schwartz continues: "In the recount fight after the 2000 election, he served as a foot soldier in the legal army that descended on Florida and gave Bush his presidency. As a lawyer for Bush in the White House counsel's office, he shepherded most of the administration's contentious federal court nominees."

Briefing Room Follies

From yesterday's press briefing with Scott McClellan, two questions from briefing-room eccentric Lester Kinsolving:

"Q Scott, while you were gone the Internet reported the President's statement to Bill Sammon : 'I find it interesting that the old way of gathering news is slowly but surely' being - 'losing market share. It is interesting to watch those media conglomerates try to deal with the realities of a new kind of world.' And my question first: Considering this presidential statement, when can we expect that what he termed the old and market-losing media will have their reserved seats in the two front rows of this press room reassigned to the new media?

"MR. McCLELLAN: Boy, that's one I don't really want to open up right now. (Laughter.) I don't get into book promotions -- obviously, you do. But I do look forward to reading that one.

"Q Did the President watch any of the Academy Awards for prostitution and sodomy last night?

"MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not aware that he caught any of it. I don't know -- I don't know what you're referring to, either. Les, I'm going to move on."

All About the Rug

Peter Baker writes in The Washington Post: "For whatever reason, Bush seems fixated on his rug. Virtually all visitors to the Oval Office find him regaling them about how it was chosen and what it represents. Turns out, he always says, the first decision any president makes is what carpet he wants in his office. As a take-charge leader, he then explains, he of course made a command decision -- he delegated the decision to Laura Bush, who chose a yellow sunbeam design.

"Elizabeth Vargas, the ABC News anchor, was the latest to get the treatment. She went by last week to interview Bush before his trip to Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Sure enough, she wasn't in the room but a minute or two before he started telling her about the carpet. . . .

" 'He loves his rug,' said Nicolle Wallace, the White House communications director. 'I've heard him describe it countless times.'

"Sometimes Bush describes it as a metaphor for leadership. Sometimes he relates how Russian President Vladimir Putin admired the carpet. Sometimes he seems most taken by the lighting qualities."

Here, from the White House Web site, is Bush's virtual tour of the Oval Office -- and the rug: "It helps make this room an open and optimistic place," he tells viewers.