To Republicans and conservatives, there can be little doubt that George W. Bush is a more honorable and trustworthy occupant of the White House than his predecessor. Some commentators have even urged the new president to open up the windows of the White House and air the place out.
The new president should ignore this perspective and continue working each and every day to earn the trust of the American people.
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Why?
Because most Americans don't share the unshakable belief of conservatives that Bush is a breath of fresh air after Clinton. In fact, the latest Rasmussen Research telephone survey found that only 43 percent of Americans believe that George W. Bush is honest and trustworthy. While it may be unfathomable to supporters of the new president, 31 percent say he is not.
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This means that 26 percent of voters have yet to form an opinion about the integrity of President Bush. These voters can be won over by the president or they will be turned off if the Bush team arrogantly assumes that it's ethical superiority is self-evident. This is the audience that Bush must win over by recognizing their doubts and seeking ways to demonstrate that he is worthy of their trust.
Conservatives reading this may still be reeling in shock over the fact that Bush is not universally embraced as an honest and trustworthy fellow. These activists should remember that the president is still a politician and that Americans have long held a healthy skepticism about all who seek votes for high public office.
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As just one example of this point, Bush enters office at a time when only 28 percent of voters trust the government to do the right thing most of the time. Most believe that the federal government has become a special interest group that looks out primarily for its own interests.
From a policy perspective, consider this. The most consistent campaign promise made by our new president was to cut taxes. Most Americans (56 percent) favor this tax cut, and 59 percent want taxes and spending to go down over the next five years. Still, despite the campaign promises and popular support, only 20 percent of voters expect taxes and spending to go down over the next five years.
On top of this generic skepticism about politicians, questions about Bush's integrity can also be attributed to the partisan warfare of recent years. The closeness of the election and the re-count debacle added doubts as well. As a result, 74 percent of Republicans now say that Bush is honest and trustworthy while only 10 percent say he is not. Among Democrats, only 23 percent said that those words describe our new president while 44 percent say they do not. This partisan gap will never go away entirely, but it can be minimized.
Gaps can also be found along other traditional fault lines. Men, by a 50 percent to 27 percent margin, say Bush is honest. Women are evenly divided with 37 percent saying the president is trustworthy while 34 percent say he is not. Forty-eight percent of white voters say the president is honest and trustworthy, a view shared by only 13 percent of black voters.
When all is said and done, what matters will be the perception of President Bush when he leaves office rather than when he first assumes office. If the president recognizes the skepticism than many feel about him today, he may be able to improve the way these same people look at him in 2004.
