Bush a Wimp?

If George Bush is such a wimp, how can he now be considered invincible in the contest for the Republican nomination for President? If Bush’s campaign is so lacking in substance, how could the vice president decimate Sen. Bob Dole in 16 states on Super Tuesday by a vote of 2.7 million to 1.2 million? Just as Bush was celebrating his biggest election victory ever, why was he being bashed and ridiculed by many political experts who should be his friends?

Can President Reagan’s magic be so potent that Bush could sweep through the GOP primaries just by basking in the glow? Isn’t it possible that maybe--just maybe--all those Republican voters see something in George Bush that the self-appointed political experts are missing?

Well, maybe. Yes and no.

All along Dole has claimed that Bush could not win an election just on the basis of his resume--by the mere fact that he has held so many impressive-sounding national positions even though there is little clear record of results achieved. But Super Tuesday exit results compiled by I. A. Lewis, director of the Los Angeles Times Poll, indicate that Republican voters are in fact quite impressed by Bush’s resume, which includes jobs as vice president, director of central intelligence, emissary to China and ambassador to the United Nations.

Of 2,541 Bush voters interviewed after they left the polls in six states, 60% cited Bush’s experience as a major reason for their support of him; 20% noted that they liked Bush’s leadership qualities. But beyond that even his Republican supporters were not terribly high on Bush for his personal qualities. Each voter was asked to name two qualities that attracted him to the candidate. Only 17% cited Bush for the strength of his convictions or his trustworthiness, 15% liked him as a “doer,” 13% for his caring for people and 11% for his ability to be a winner. By contrast, those who voted for Dole were strong on Dole’s leadership (37%), the strength of his convictions (28%), his experience (22%) and his ability to get things done (20%). Only 6% of Bush’s supporters viewed him as tough or forceful. But only 7% of the Dole voters most admired his toughness, even though Dole generally is viewed as far “tougher” than Bush. It seems that voters care far more about other attributes than a candidate’s toughness.

The Reagan coattails clearly have a strong pull in Bush’s behalf. More than 90% of all Republicans interviewed in the Los Angeles Times poll gave Reagan a good job rating. Of those, 61% voted for Bush and only 20% for Dole. Bush of course did less well in Iowa, where the President’s popularity was not so high.

The Southern exit-poll results, which were quite similar to those in New Hampshire, indicate that GOP voters support Bush mostly because he is viewed as Reagan’s man and has held a lot of jobs. In other words, Bush’s critics might say, the Republican voters agree to an extent that Bush is a bit of a wimp--not very caring, not very strong in his own convictions and not much of a doer. But at least he’s an experienced wimp.