By Brian Bohl
Incoming White House Press Secretary Tony Snow will have a rough acclimation process as President Bush continues to see his popularity drop from a slew of recent negative publicity. A CNN poll last week put Bush’s approval rating at an abysmal 32 percent, amid high gas prices and a potential major impediment to his famed wire-tapping program
If Snow starts to regret leaving his position at Fox News in a hurry, Republican Senator Arlen Specter will be a big reason why. The Pennsylvania lawmaker has stated publicly that he will consider a measure that would cease funding for the controversial domestic wire-tapping program. Specter chairs the Judiciary Committee, and has gone on record as saying he will potentially use this measure until the Bush administration is more forthcoming.
“Institutionally, the presidency is walking all over Congress at the moment,” said Specter to the Associated Press. “If we are to maintain our institutional prerogative, that may be the only way we can do it.”
A well respected Republican senator blocking a program Bush has pushed so hard for is a good indication of a possible split between moderate Republicans and the White House as the mid-term elections draw closer.
The news does not improve in foreign affairs, either. A State Department report released this week concluded that almost 8,300 civilians were killed in Iraq in 2005. For an administration that claims the situation is dramatically improving, the disclosure that the killing of innocent people nearly doubled from 2004 is a sad reminder of the reality on the ground.
Immediately, Snow has these two substantial stories occupying prominent positions in the foreign and domestic spheres, but those concerns will be put on the backburner with the issue of gas prices becoming the most pertinent problem facing the country. From the local level to the national stage, people become the most vocal when an issue arises that directly affects the wallet. It will be up to Snow to sell the claim that the government is taking action to ensure oil companies are not just making windfall profits at the expensive of consumers.
When murders are still taking place on a daily basis in Sudan and Iraq, the fact that it cost more to fill up America’s oversized SUV’s probably should be rendered insignificant, but President Bush should be prepared to face greater public scrutiny over this issue than most others.
With a new press secretary comes a chance for the administration to get a fresh start with the White House press corps. It would be unfair to expect drastic changes from an administration that has been close-knit and secretive. Yet, even an effort at a more open dialogue with the public in relation to dealing with major issues such as Iran could go a long way towards partially restoring the President’s battered public image.
The rhetoric coming from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on issues ranging from the existence of Israel to his country’s nuclear ambitions are conducive to an eventual showdown that might require at least some form of military intervention. As of right now, the public support is so low that the use of force against another Middle Eastern country will not be supported. It will be the job of Snow to get the trust of the people back, and the best way is a more open government that uses physical evidence instead of blanket demands that everyone trust the federal government to work in the people’s best interest on faith alone.
The problems Bush has faced since his second term in office began will only become more severe. With Snow on board, the President has a chance to change the tone with a new intermediary to the public. Gas prices, Iran and homeland security are becoming liabilities to the President. Now is the time for more transparency in order to rectify that predicament.