I was interested in the following transcript of White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's press conference from Oct. 18:
REPORTER: Scott, can you tell us how the recent job approval ratings have any impact on the President or his agenda?
MR. McCLELLAN: Are you talking about poll numbers? I think we've addressed that issue. The President is focused on moving forward on our agenda. He doesn't get caught up in the weekly poll numbers. That's something Washington gets caught up in. The American people expect us to move forward on the priorities that they care most about. And that's what we're doing. We're moving forward on the priorities that they care about, such as making sure that we succeed in Iraq so that our troops can return home, and making sure that we're addressing high energy prices.
Now, gas prices are starting to come down a little bit, but energy prices are too high and that's a drag on our economy. We have moved forward to create a strong -- or to get our economy growing strongly and creating jobs, but there is more that we need to do. And that's something that affects Americans, families, and small businesses and their pocketbooks. And it's a concern for the President that we're working to address. And we're working to move forward on winning the war on terrorism to make sure that the American people are safe and secure for generations to come.
REPORTER: I was just asking -- in recent days you've often cited the American people and what they want, and I was just wondering if you look at these poll numbers at all, and if it affects the President one way or the other --
MR. McCLELLAN: We read papers and reports just like you do, but we don't get caught up in those. No, he doesn't in terms of affecting him, if that's what you're asking.
This colloquy raises several interesting points.
First, if the president does indeed want to move forward "on the priorities that they [the American people] care most about," how does he know what those are? The president famously doesn't spend a great deal of time pouring through the nation's newspapers or watching cable news channels. Like all presidents, Bush is forced to live in a bubble, and certainly doesn't have the opportunity to go out among the common people of this country and get a feel for their concerns and problems and attitudes. The people around this president, perhaps more than others, are by all accounts not the types who bring the president uncomfortable news or highly divergent opinions.
So I would certainly suggest that public opinion polling is a particularly important way for this president to really know what the public cares about in terms of public policy, and I would (and have) strongly suggest that he monitor such polling very carefully. I think Mr. McClellan might be better off by responding: "The president pays very close attention to scientific public opinion polling, and as a result is keenly aware of the concerns and priorities established by the people."
But I suspect that the questioning reporter was more simply asking about the impact of the president's job approval ratings at a more basic level. More than half of the people in the country today disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as president. The question becomes: Should Bush be concerned about this, monitor it, and take it into account?
McClellan says no. We assume that the president, however, picks up some sense of his job approval standing through osmosis by virtue of discussions with his staff. It's clear that Bush's staff pays attention to polls very carefully. Even if Karl Rove (who apparently pays a great deal of attention to polls) is otherwise occupied at the moment, it's certain that others in the White House are aware of the president's sinking approval levels. It's hard to believe that the president is not aware at some level of where he stands in the eyes of the American public as measured by polls.
I think it is in fact a good thing if the president pays close attention to his basic job approval ratings. Certainly people in positions of authority in almost all walks of life -- CEOs, university presidents, generals, Major League baseball coaches, restaurant managers -- are evaluated on some metric or performance standard. It goes with the territory. Most confront that metric every day. It's not out of the question that presidents should, too.
Bush's job performance ratings are low at this point. That means the people he represents are questioning how well he is doing on their behalf. Certainly the president -- as would be the case for any president -- should be aware of this, and should be taking steps to understand what it is that is at the root of the problem. Ignoring the views of the people in a democracy is not a very effective, or in the long run, efficient way to proceed.