How Seinfeld Can Save the Bush Presidency

There has been speculation recently on whether it is possible at this point for George Bush to rebound from his dismal poll numbers and turn his presidency around. With his job approval rating in the mid to low thirties for the bulk of the last two years, Bush has lost independents and most moderate Republicans. It is doubtful that his approval could sink much lower due to the fact that anyone that still feels he is doing an adequate job will never desert a Republican president. With that in mind, is it possible that George W. Bush can recapture the support of moderates and independents?

The answer is yes with a qualification. The presidency commands an inherent respect. People want to believe that their President is doing a good job. If the President is doing a good job then the country is heading in the right direction. Conversely, if they have to admit that the President is not handling his job, then by extension the country is on the wrong track. So it shouldn't take much to maintain average poll numbers. It is only the massive and repeated incompetence of this administration that explains the subterranean numbers.

Unfortunately for the President and his poll numbers, he has shown himself incapable of not only adapting to changing conditions, but even acknowledging that conditions have changed. This is the President after all, who when asked if he had made any mistakes in his first term, could not recall a single misstep in his first four years. So it is fairly obvious that if things continue as they are, Bush could be the first President since Carter to lose the faith of his base. And this is where Seinfeld comes into the picture.

There was an episode of Seinfeld wherein perennial loser George Costanza decided that his first instinct was always wrong. His solution was to always do the exact opposite of his first instinct. His plan worked admirably and George Costanza became a winning, successful human being. Until of course his Costanza-like tendencies got the better of him and he reverted to being loser George.

This is what Bush must do to save his Presidency. He must do the exact opposite of what he feels is right. Feel like it's a good idea to bomb Iran? Talk to them instead. Feel like it's a great plan to drop another 20,000 troops into Iraq? Pull out 20,000 instead. In short, whatever George Bush thinks is the best course of action in any situation, he should do the exact opposite. Then just watch those poll numbers climb.