WTF Is It Now?!?

Ed Vulliamy at the UK Observer writes:

The invitation arrived at the White House a few days before last week's historic World Cup victory by the United States over Mexico. It was from the Mexican President Vincente Fox, suggesting that George Bush and he watch the game together, as a gesture of friendship between neighbouring nations. The reply came, from a member of Bush's staff: the President would be asleep at that hour of the night.

It mattered little, since most of his nation was likewise in slumber - but the rebuff spoke volumes to columnists and Washington DC observers about the clueless, crassly selfish quality of a President and a presidency which are suddenly lurching, rather than governing, at the apex of American power.

The campaign for November's elections to Congress and governorships nationwide kick-starts and stalls again, as real-life politics is interrupted by the latest suspiciously well-timed ' terrorist alert'. The White House message is that this is largely a Republican Party election campaign of state-by-state contests, not an endorsement of Bush's popularity.

But sources in Washington say an alarmed President and Vice-President have taken personal roles in recruiting candidates, forestalling damaging primary contests - and raising money. Most significantly, the election is being fought as an attempt to re-adopt the 'compassionate conservatism' label. A number of Republican representatives and senators have tabled Bills to that effect, but are now scrambling to avoid having them come onto the floor of the House. 'They do not dare have it on the record that they voted for their own measures, because they know that, if they do, they would probably not get re-elected,' said one Washington insider.

Meanwhile, the presidency is simply becoming less credible, after months of apparent unassailability. The President is making gaffes that are not those old 'Bushism' jokes, but seriously political. Among the current irregularities, defending his Budget plans, he insists over and over that he said on a campaign stop in Chicago in 2000 that he would countenance a deficit under three exceptional circumstances: war, national emergency and recession.

All attempts to dig out the reference have failed, including calls to the White House. Faced with a challenge to provide it, the man in charge of the Budget, Mitch Daniel, snapped: 'I'm not the White House librarian.'

Crucially, Karl Rove is tireless in his work with core Republican and Bush supporters, endlessly working the governors' mansions, the industrial and commercial interests that back the President financially and politically, and groups such as the National Rifle Association.

In the parlance of Washington, the Republicans have a word for this constituency, which slips off the tongue without regard to what it has come to mean given recent events. They call it 'The Base', which in Arabic translates as 'al-Qaeda'.

- - Snipped from here.