Stephen Hess
Stephen Hess
Stephen H. Hessis a senior fellow emeritus in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He studies media, the U.S. presidency, political dynasties and the U.S. government. He first joined Brookings in 1972 and was distinguished research professor of media and public affairs at the George Washington University. He served on Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon's White House staff and as an adviser to Presidents Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter...
bad dominating katrina month
A month from now, if Katrina is still dominating the headlines, he really is in bad shape,
close outcome
I think the outcome is going to be pretty close to what we have now.
year
That is not an unsubstantial year for the president.
spoken
Besides, he's already spoken extensively about the hurricanes.
disaster large likely president promptly speak wherever
It's more likely that a president will be there -- wherever there is -- and will speak more promptly after a disaster to a very large audience,
comment either pleasant rather refuse
They either refuse to comment or say rather pleasant things.
biggest
This could be the biggest investigation of 2006.
news numbers polls reflection
Polls are a reflection of the headlines. When the news is bad, the president's numbers go down, and when the news is good, they go up,
bipartisan iraqis message sends vote white
A big, bipartisan vote sends a message to the Iraqis and the White House. It's very, very significant.
comedians handled late limited might night question simply style
Had this been handled expeditiously, quickly, it might have been a story on the style page, or limited to the late night comedians and the cartoonists. There's simply no question they fumbled this one.
question
No question about it. It is overwhelmingly the issue.
main
That's the main thing he's got going for him,
adequate elections iraq issue
An adequate withdrawal by mid-year 2006 could neutralize Iraq as the overriding issue of the mid-term congressional elections.
close government president screw united
This is not a full-fledged mea culpa. But by presidential standards, it's there, or pretty close to it, ... The government did screw up, and he is president of the United States.