The denigration of George W. Bush is the subject of this evening's Talking Points memo.
Bush handled the China situation well, he got a tax cut passed and the recession hasn't deepened. Yet President Bush is being subjected to all kinds of personal attacks in the media.
Saturday Night Live, Leno and Letterman, some of the liberal columnists and a chorus of Hollywood hot shots are all having a blast portraying Mr. Bush as a court jester. The problem is that it is not true.
The president may be unsure of himself in some situations and he may be inarticulate at times but nearly every American experiences that. Everyone, that is, except Bill Clinton who was a genius at public speaking and lip biting. The trouble was you couldn't believe the smooth words.
At this point I haven't found any deceit in Mr. Bush. It is true that he has reversed some of his policies, angering both the left and the right. But he pretty much has stuck to his campaign themes.
So why all the vitriol directed at the President?
Well, the sore loser theme is still in play that's number one. He is conservative, that's number two. He is down-home rather than sophisticated, so the swells and the celebrities don't like that. And he appears not to give a flip what the elite media thinks.
That has really angered the intelligentsia and that is the real reason the wise guys are verbally bashing Bush. He will not pander to the party crowd; he doesn't like them and they know it.
Mr. Clinton loved them. He loved Barbra Streisand, he couldn't get enough of Hollywood, he was party boy number one. Mr. Bush likes baseball and his ranch.
So what we have here is a cultural divide. The show biz types look down on Mr. Bush, even as they looked up to Mr. Clinton and to this day I can't understand that.
It may turn out that President Bush is not up to the job -- that is possible. This economy needs a jump-start and fast. If the Bush administration can't get corporate earnings in gear then watch out. But let's give the guy a chance, before we start calling him names.
I gave Mr. Clinton a chance and he blew it. I give everybody a chance. That's the fair thing to do.
So chalk up the personal attacks on the president as rank snobbery and unadulterated ideological hatred.
Talking points despises both of those things. And that's the memo.
— You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points weeknights at 8 p.m. ET. And send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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