Bush's Season of Discontent

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 28, 2006 — -- On his first full day at his Crawford, Texas, retreat, President Bush hit the bike trails hard -- pushing against high winds and speeding over wet trails for almost an hour and a half. When his fellow riders went off to recover from the workout, an invigorated president headed out to clear brush.

Bush has said that escaping into the rural landscape of his Crawford estate helps him clear his mind. No doubt he could use it.

Thursday, his full attention will once again be drawn to the looming decisions ahead -- should he increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq? If so, by how much? And what can be done to rescue his presidency in the eyes of the American public?

Bush currently has the lowest approval ratings of any president since Harry Truman. The public discontent stems largely from a widely held view that the president has mishandled the Iraq war.

The plan that's been floated as his most likely "fix" for the problems in Iraq -- a surge of 10,000 to 30,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq -- is unpopular with the American public. Only 17 percent would support such a troop increase.

Though Bush frequently says he's doesn't lead based on polls, he has made it clear that the devastating election losses his party suffered in November sent him a message.

"The election created tremendous pressure for the president to make a significant change in Iraq and in his presidency. He needs to change to show that he's responding to the deep discontent in the nation," said Sidney Milkis, chair of the department of politics at the University of Virginia.

Now, the president seems to be on a campaign to show he can and will change -- both in style and substance. The commander in chief, known for a shoot-from-the-hip style of leadership, is in the midst of an uncharacteristic and very public advice-taking tour about Iraq.

Bush says he's gathering input from advisors and even critics to form a new strategy for curbing the violence there. And the same president who has been accused by critics of rushing into war says he will not be rushed into a decision.