Beats Governing

It's often said that President Bush is better at campaigning than governing. He certainly seems to enjoy it more.

Five years into his presidency, he still speaks with great contempt about "Washington" -- as if he wasn't running the place.

And while the war in Iraq isn't going well, a political fight is just his speed.

So it's no surprise that the same man who on Tuesday morning was listlessly flogging his economic policy to conservative wonks in Washington was pumped up last night at the Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis as he served up red meat to major Republican donors.

The approval-rating bumps Bush was counting on, first from his White House staff shake-up and then from the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, never really materialized, leaving the president in deeply unpopular territory.

Theoretically, Bush could get himself out of this mess by trying to solve some of the problems afflicting his presidency. But campaigning is easier.

[The hugely significant Hamdan decision and Bush's morning press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi came down too close to my deadline for me to write about today -- but check back tomorrow.]

Fire One! Bash the Press!

Charles Babington and Michael Abramowitz write in The Washington Post: "President Bush rallied Republicans with another attack on the media last night, in remarks that highlighted efforts at the White House and on Capitol Hill to gain momentum from recent disclosures about classified programs to fight terrorism."

Bush and his fellow Republican are "working to fan public anger and reap gains from the controversy during a midterm election year in which polls show they are running against stiff headwinds," Babington and Abramowitz write.

" 'This is all so people don't realize what else is going on,' especially in Iraq, said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), who is heading [the Democratic Party's] efforts to regain control of the House in the November elections. 'This is disingenuous of both the White House and House Republicans.'

"The White House dismissed such claims. 'This is not press-bashing. This is a clear disagreement about a decision to reveal a classified program,' White House counselor Dan Bartlett said in an e-mail exchange. 'Are we supposed to just sit back and take it?'"

Scott Shane writes in the New York Times: "Ever since President Bush vowed days after the Sept. 11 attacks to 'follow the money as a trail to the terrorists,' the government has made no secret of its efforts to hunt down the bank accounts of Al Qaeda and its allies.