Post Politics Hour

washingtonpost.com's Daily Politics Discussion

Don't want to miss out on the latest in politics? Start each day with The Post Politics Hour. Join in each weekday morning at 11 a.m. as a member of The Washington Post's team of White House and Congressional reporters answers questions about the latest in buzz in Washington and The Post's coverage White House reporter Michael Fletcher was online Thursday, June 15, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest in political news.

Political analysis from Post reporters and interviews with top newsmakers. Listen live on Washington Post Radio or subscribe to a podcast of the show.

The transcript follows.

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New York, N.Y.: What is with the media? A new NBC/WSJ poll has Bush's approval rating up ONE point and it calls it a small "bounce." Meanwhile, his disapproval rating also went up ONE point, is that not a small "slide"? Or at least a wash? Geez...I know you guys get criticized for not reporting good news, but I think NBC is stretching things here.

Michael Fletcher: Good morning, everyone. Let's get started. The question about polls is a good one. I'm one who thinks we pay too much attention to them, and we subsequently frame too many political actions around them. Having said that, it is also true that the politicians we cover certainly follow the polls. I must agree that the example you cite-if it's as stated--doesn't make a lot of sense as an example of a bounce. But, for what it's worth, Bush has been up as many as seven points, I think, in the latest wave of polls.

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Arlington, Va.: Why do you reporters put up with Bush's "affectionate" needling? What Bush said to the Los Angeles Times' reporter yesterday shows some sort of sick need to prove that he's in charge. Bush is not emotionally equipped to handle being president.

Michael Fletcher: Geez, Arlington. Relax. What would you have us do? I think the press corps handles Bush's "needling" in an appropriate way. Plus, it's my sense that such needling reflects Bush's sense of humor. After taking the Bush "needle," Peter Wallsten, the LA Times reporter in question, asked Bush a good question about Rove --which Bush, unfortunately for us, ducked.

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New York, N.Y.: Do you think Congress's debate today on Iraq, pushed by the GOP to do nothing but put the Dems on the defensive, might actually work to their disadvantage by exposing how much they are lax in their oversight of Bush and his war policies? A poll out yesterday showed Congress with a 26% approval rating and the American death toll in Iraq just passed the 2,500 mark. People want solutions! Not politics! Give me a break.

Michael Fletcher: It's hard to say. It seems to me that both Democrats and Republicans have fewer worries when it comes to oversight of war policy than they do with the question of charting a way forward in Iraq. Bush, buoyed by the recent flurry of good news in Iraq, seems to be in fighting form on the subject. He's against a deadline for withdrawal, etc.. He also is claiming credit for slowly but surely putting the future of Iraq in the hands of the new Iraqi government. It will be interesting to see what voters decide.

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New Bedford, Mass.: Mr. Fletcher,

A recent survey by the Pew Research Group found a drop in support for the Bush War on Terror. A majority of people in 10 of the 14 countries outside the U.S. believe the war in Iraq had made the world a more dangerous place. Yet Bush according to your story, bush points to progress in Iraq. what is your sense of where things stand in Iraq and how our presence there is either fueling or thwarting terrorism. with the current strategy will we ever win the war on terror, or do we need to revisit our approach?

And who do you think will win the world cup?

Michael Fletcher: Wow, New Bedford. Where do I start? It seems to me that much of the world resents the way we are conducting the war on terror. Polls out of Iraq are revealing, if they are at all accurate. Start with the finding that nearly half of Iraqis approve of attacks on U.S.-led coalition forces. Think about that. Also, Iraqis are feeling increasingly less hopeful about the future of their country. Other measures find growing antipathy toward the U.S. in many corners of the globe. Much of this might be the natural resentment of the big boy on the block, but some of it also has to do with perceived American arrogance. It seems that our country would do better to engage more of the world--not cave on core principles, but engage--because beneath it all, it is my experience, at least, that at some level most of the world deeply admires America, its freedom, opportunity, etc. Can't help you on the World Cup, but I do think the Heat will come back and win the NBA finals.

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Meriden, Conn.: You were right to point out to Arlington, Va. that there's not much that reporters can do about Bush's thinly veiled insults. But you have to admit he/she has a point about Bush having a sick need to prove that he's in charge. We've seen this kind of behavior repeatedly from him throughout the administration. It seems to me that it really is fair to say that he's not emotionally equipped to be president. Which kind of fits in with the incompetence he's demonstrated in other ways. So my question is, is this kind of behaviour by Bush a topic of frequent conversation by media members? Does it create any animosity toward him among some reporters? And if so, do you think bad feelings occasionally color the tone of White House coverage? Thanks.

Michael Fletcher: I've never heard Bush discussed in those terms in the press corps. Some have commented on what they see as a lack of curiosity, or kind of a thin-skinned personality that lurks just below the jocular jokester. But, overall, Bush is a personable guy--at least at the level that most of the press gets to deal with him. And if I had to guess, I'd say most of the press likes him on a personal level. I think coverage may have been shaped in the past by a lack of access most of us had to members of the administration, but that seems to be loosening ever so slightly since Josh Bolten took over as chief of staff.

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Tallahassee, Fla.: The Democrats who oppose the Iraq war never take a principled stand against the policy of preemption, but rather say it was a "poorly planned war" or "based on faulty intelligence," why do you think that is?

Michael Fletcher: Because they're politicians. I think they got swept up in the post-9/11 fervor. And now some of them are regretting it. Needless to say, that complicates the political argument some of them are trying to make now.

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Alexandria, Va.: Do you think there will be or should be much introspection about U.S. fatalities in Iraq hitting the 2500 mark today? Or are will it be lost in the noise of the ongoing Zarqawi-palooza?

Michael Fletcher: Personally, I think there should be introspection every day of the war. In my mind, 2,500 is another number, not unlike, say, 2,479. All the deaths are painful. And let's not forget the untold Iraqi death toll. Having said that, we're at war and death is part of that. So I'd argue for deep reflection before the first smart bomb is let go.

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Bethesda, Md.: Recently, Bush said we could measure progress in Iraq by looking at the amount of electricity and oil produced by Iraq. How are those amounts relative to prewar levels which seems to be a better benchmark than zero?

Michael Fletcher: Not good. In rough terms they are just at prewar levels, or a little worse. Crude oil production is down some. Baghdad has electricity roughly 8 hours a day, despite huge investments in the grid, which is constantly being sabotaged. Under Saddam, it was closer to 16 to 24. To be fair, things have improved some outside the capital. Many people now rely on private generators, I read.

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Detroit, Mich.: "But, for what it's worth, Bush has been up as many as seven points, I think, in the latest wave of polls. "

Wrong. He's up 2 points in the latest Gallup. Two polls ago in Gallup he was at 31% (which was probably a low outlier) and in the poll before this Gallup he was at 36%. So all in all in the latest polls he is either up 2, up 1, or down 2. That's not a bounce, no matter how hard the MSM wants it to be.

Bottom line, the killing of Zarqawi made people slightly more optimistic about the war in Iraq ... but that hasn't translated to changing Bush's popularity (yet).

Michael Fletcher: Not to belabor this, but USA Today did have Bush going from 31 to 38 percent approval between May and June 12. But as they say, 38 ain't nothing to brag about.

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Boston, Mass.: Why did Arlen Specter address his letter about the NSA wiretapping program to Dick Cheney instead of the President?

Michael Fletcher: Because Cheney has been essentially overseeing the program and leading the briefings on the hill on the entire eavesdropping effort.

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Washington, D.C.: I think what the previous questioners were referring to is that Bush's nicknamey stuff is quite reminiscent of interpersonal interactions that are purported to be "jokes" but are really a way to establish/demonstrate a dominance relationship. I think you know that and are afraid to really address their questions because you are in a conflicted position - if you state a real opinion, you might have more limited access. Just my two cents. I would not tolerate those types of "jokes" from any of my friends or colleagues. The only reason you guys do is because you are in an unequal power position with the President. If he called my a nickname, I would hope I would have the cajones to call him on it by calling him one, too. He has nothing on me... cannot limit my access and therefore my ability to do my job.

Michael Fletcher: I have to say, you seem to have thought about this more than I have. Maybe I'm in denial, but I don't see his little nicknames and jokes as a big deal or anything more than trying to humanize a situation where we reporters spend our professional lives eyeballing the guy and analyzing his actions. When you're around him, just one look at his security detail or entourage or the resources at his fingertips reminds you of who's the president and who's the scribe. But that doesn't mean we can't ask him tough questions and write even tougher stories.

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Ellicott City, Md.: Peter Wallsten should have asked in lieu of an apology a straight answer to his question.

That would have ruled.

Michael Fletcher: Actually, that was Peter's position. Bush called to apologize but Peter said it was unnecessary. He went on to comment that he wished more people paid attention to his question than Bush's quip.

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Baltimore, Md.: I just don't understand why Democrats who originally voted to start the war with Iraq can't just say "Based on the false intelligence provided to me by the President and the Republican Majority in Congress, I voted for the invasion. If the intelligence was true today, I'd vote for invasion. The problem is that we were LIED to, just as the American People have been lied to consistently by this administration. Therefore, based on what I know today, I'd not have voted to invade, but would have voted to continue our war on terrorism by beefing up our Afghanistan operations and our intelligence services." Plain English, and the inability of our Democratic Party congressional members to use it is why we won't regain control of Congress in November. Agree?

Michael Fletcher: That's certainly a position to consider. But you do remember Kerry's famous answer to the "if you knew now what you knew then" question. It is no secret that the Democrats struggle with appearing to be "soft" on national security, so that limits how some of them frame these issues. And to be fair, the administration has argued that they went with the intelligence they had and only learned it was faulty later.

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Laurel, Md.: What nickname has Bush given you?

Michael Fletcher: None that I know of.

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Dale City, Va.: Are those who are using generators being included as "having electricity" 8 hours a day or is that just those receiving actual power? If they have to rely on generators that seems to imply that electrical service is not available or dependable. What about other services like water or garbage collection? Are those services being provided or is each family on its own to fulfill its needs?

Michael Fletcher: The 8 hour figure refers to those receiving power over transmission lines. I understand that fewer people have potable water than before the war and that water treatment capacity is roughly at one-third the prewar level in Iraq. More than a third of the estimated 34,000 doctors in Iraq have fled the country since the war's onset. One estimate says that 2,000 doctors have been murdered and another 250 kidnapped since the war started.

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Burke, Va.: "And if I had to guess, I'd say most of the press likes him on a personal level."

It's kind of weird, because I only see him for the policies which he has implementing. It seems as if often people who interview or interact with the president like him on a personal level but seem to forget how his actions affect your readers.

Michael Fletcher: I don't know that one begets the other. I think most reporters DON'T forget about his policies, even if they see him as a nice guy. The policies are what we write about day in and day out.

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Michael Fletcher: Time's up. Thanks for your questions.

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