The Summer of Discontent

No matter how you measure it or who does the measuring, the majority of Americans believe that President Bush is doing a lousy job. Our president now has the dubious distinction of possessing the lowest second-term approval ratings of any president since Nixon. In fact, the latest Times-CBS survey showed the president tied with Nixon's approval ratings during Watergate – a dismal 42 percent.

Other polls are not much better. The Associated Press-Iposs Poll showed a 43 percent approval for the president. The Gallup Poll was 47 percent. The Washington Post-ABC News Poll was the rosiest at a whopping 48 percent approval.

TRENDING: Report: Capitol cop who shot Babbitt is in hiding

To make matters worse, only 33 percent of Americans believe the country is on the right track. The president's sales pitches obviously don't measure up against the realities of an anxious America. Name any Bush initiated policy and the numbers will stink. Social Security, War in Iraq, Terri Schiavo ...

The administration acts like it is not worried. Their appetite for polls is selective. Like selective memory, Team Bush uses the polls they like and loses the one's they don't like. Their response to the unfavorable polls is that polls don't matter. They simply play reruns of the "strong leader" show.

"A strong leader governs from conviction, not by focus groups," they say. What does that mean? No one said anything about focus groups. Americans are dying daily in an unpopular war. At home they are losing their pensions, losing their jobs, losing their health care ... fuel is pushing $60 a barrel. If it stays there, say "bye bye" to "Miss American Pie," because there's not going to be much left for anyone. It's time to listen up Mr. President. Your nation is tired of your lines. It's time for leadership, not swagger.

The president's only saving grace is that his numbers are not as bad as those of the Republican-led Congress. As they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. The Republican House has fallen from 54 percent approval to 40 percent in recent months. Polls show that Congress is, in a word, useless.

Of course, for all the bad news about the president and his Republican-led Congress, there is very little good news about the Democrats. As one frustrated voter said to me the other day, "The Republicans have bad ideas and the Democrats have no ideas."

I have come to the cynical conclusion that we would be better off if our government took the summer off. Bush could go back to Crawford and clear brush for the month of August like he did in the August of 2001 when the nation was in imminent danger of a terrorist attack. Congress could go back to their constituents and raise money all summer since that seems to be the only measurable result they are capable of achieving.

Two-thirds of our nation believes we are being led in the wrong direction by our government. Perhaps it is time to rethink the journey. As I learned as a child, when you are heading the wrong way, it's best to stop.