What Happened To The Texas Swagger?

Is this another case of where Laura has had to put little Georgie down for a nap to curb his wild behavior, only this time, the lesson finally sunk in?

What happened to the Texas swagger?

Maybe it went the way of his poll numbers. Maybe this is a newly reflective President Bush. Or maybe the first lady had her say.

Whatever the case, when Mr. Bush said at a news conference on Thursday night that he regretted some personal mistakes, like declaring "bring 'em on" in 2003, he seemed a little like the chastened husband who finally admitted he had done something wrong. Whether it worked or not depends on whom you ask.

"Sad day in Crawford, they're hanging their heads," said William J. Bennett, the former education secretary and conservative radio talk show host. Mr. Bennett said many of his listeners expressed dismay at what they considered Mr. Bush's groveling.

"One of the attractive things about the president is that he talks Texas," Mr. Bennett continued. "But what broke my heart is when he said, 'I need to be more sophisticated.' What is this, Kerry talk? Is he going to use 'elan' the next time he speaks?"

Give me a break. No offense, but I want someone with more than an ounce of intelligence representing me to the rest of the world. I realize that the idea of "G. Walker Bush, Texas Ranger" is attractive to a lot of "down home" folk, but that isn't being realistic. Yes, we do have a responsibility to put on our best for the rest of the world, whether Americans like it or not. We don't own the United Nations, we are a member. Thanks to Bush's need to play "Cowboys and Terrorists," we've forgotten that. When the rest of the world would like you to play dress-up and tea time, you don't show up in muddied clothes and a 10 gallon hat, with a toy rifle at your side.

Most mature people would prefer a little time for "sophistication".

And there are those of us who grew up in the countryside (like yours truly) who don't like Bush's "Texas talk". Save it for Texas, please.

It's time for "Redneck USA" to wake up and realize that America isn't 100% redneck. There's this little thing called diversity, if you'll kindly remember it.

Hold on a minute, said Kenneth M. Duberstein, President Ronald Reagan's last chief of staff. "The country loves mea culpas from the president," Mr. Duberstein said. "It makes them human. This is part and parcel of the influence of Josh -- making sure you don't go out there and thumb your nose at the entire world."

"Josh" is Joshua B. Bolten, the new White House chief of staff, who was reared inside the Beltway, educated at Princeton and has never uttered a Texas colloquialism that anyone has heard.

I never thought I'd say this, but thank God for Joshua Bolten's influence.

Tags: [George Bush], [With a Few Humble Words, Bush Silences His Texas Swagger], [no more Texas talk for Bush?], [influence of Joshua Bolten], [William J. Bennett], [Kenneth M. Duberstein], [Bush learns a little sophistication]