Assorted Afflatuses

When evaluating the president's popularity, pollsters often ask voters how likable they consider the president. At the moment, W's approval rating remains at very low levels indeed. I cannot speak for the entire country, however, I know my unfavorable disposition towards Mr. Bush stems, in part, from the simple fact that I do not find him very personable. He seems insincere. Even when he steps up to the metaphorical plate and fields questions from reporters at press conferences, W sounds more like a broken pull-string toy than a living, breathing, likable human being.

I have never understood why the public responds well to Mr. Bush in a "town hall" setting. Whenever I have watched his performances in such an arena, the president has made a fairly overt effort to dodge undesirable questions. I remember, during the second presidential debate in 2004, Mr. Bush completely — and probably intentionally — misinterpreting one of the audience members' questions.

Mr. Bush also has an obnoxious habit of haphazardly tossing in his questioner's first name, when responding to his or her question. It sounds very disingenuous, especially when W simply appends the questioner's first name to the beginning of a memorized sound bite.

So, since the president has, in my view, failed to come across as personable in nearly every medium — print, television, radio, and even blog — he should start an informal "presidential podcast."

The crucial element, of course, is informal. If the presidential podcast becomes a rehashed presidential radio address, then it loses its purpose. He needs to seem frank and forthcoming, rather than on-message and obdurate, as he almost always does. Otherwise, he may as well call Condi and go for a bike ride.