Bush hopes Hayden CIA nomination will "reinvigorate his base"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3626796/

Before Bush takes off for Florida, two highly anticipated events will take place. New White House spokesperson Tony Snow officially starts work today, holding his first off-camera briefing for the press corps (presidential travel today through Thursday means Snow is unlikely to brief on-camera until Friday). And at 9:30 am today, Bush named Gen. Michael Hayden as his pick to replace Porter Goss at the helm of the CIA. National Security Advisor Steve Hadley, in a rare turn on TV, emphatically confirmed on TODAY this morning that Hayden "IS" the pick. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports that other changes at the CIA will follow.

In naming Hayden, Bush will ignite another nomination battle that the White House hopes will give the party an edge over Democrats in the midterm elections. The Senate's consideration of two controversial judicial nominations between now and Memorial Day will, they hope, help reinvigorate their base; one of those nominees has a confirmation hearing this week.

It's not the base that the White House has in mind with the Hayden pick, though, so much as a return to the national security theme which worked well for them in the 2002 and 2004 elections and which Karl Rove asserted would be a dominant theme in 2006. Hayden was the architect of the controversial NSA domestic wiretapping program, and even just the prospect of his nomination revived that debate over the weekend.

The White House and its political strategists remain convinced that when the debate is framed in simplified terms as a choice between personal safety and personal liberties, a majority of the public will come down in favor of safety. Polling conducted during the thick of the controversy in late 2005 and early 2006 suggested as much. Yet Bush's standing in the polls is lower now than it was back in December, and the every-man-for-himself dynamic that is setting in among GOP lawmakers in advance of the midterm elections may make this a different battle than it was just months ago. After the failed Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination, it's hard to imagine how this politically weakened President could withstand another forced withdrawal of another high-profile nominee.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

1. "Help reinvigorate their base"?? Definitely delusional.

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. The False Choice President strike again

How many freakin' times does this guy get at the plate before the Congress listens to the people they represent and throw him out of the game!!! :grr:

[caligirl]

3. Hayden LOOKS like Roves brother, another bald man. n/t

[Virginia Dare]

4. Considering his base is nothing but a bunch of nut-jobs...

he'll probably get his wish.