On May 1, 2003, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, President George W. Bush stood before a banner declaring “Mission Accomplished.” But he had declared victory prematurely and subsequently lost the political battle over the war in Iraq. From that day on, every time Americans troops suffered a setback, critics would remark something along the lines of, ‘Is this really what victory really looks like?’
In the rush to solidify a political gain, the Bush administration violated the first rule of political communications — under promise and over deliver. In fact, it violated the second rule, too — be humble in all victories. …
Why the somewhat random history lesson? Because, in the aftermath of Attorney General William Barr’s summary letter of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, President Donald Trump is making the same mistakes as President Bush. …
And a new CNN poll, released Wednesday, indicates that despite the conclusion of the Mueller investigation, the opinion of most Americans has not changed. In other words, the reaction from the White House has not been particularly persuasive — Trump’s conservative base is still with him, the Democrats are defiant and the middle remains offended by the high-handed nature of everything he does. CONT.
Joe Lockhart, CNN