Seriously, I'll Fix It This Time

It was speechwriter Peggy Noonan who penned the most memorable line at the 1988 Republican National Convention for George H.W. Bush: "Read My Lips, No New Taxes."

The line eventually became memorable for all the wrong reasons: Bush did raise taxes and then spent the 2002 campaign apologizing for the reversal. Hello, President-elect Clinton!

I thought about this today as President Barack Obama prepares to address rising gas prices. The President has failed to address both the price of gas and unemployment in the past, but now his approach seems to be: "Seriously, I'll get it right this time."

Tough sell.

I think his campaign advisers know it. So there's an attempt to revive the "celebrity cool" element that was present in his previous campaign.

But President Obama is now an incumbent, and it's tough for his campaign to get people to forget about his record and concentrate on his singing. What is occurring instead is that people are telling pollsters that they like the man but are willing to label his Presidency a failure.