The President, the Administration and the campaign need a theme. I am concerned that the President is seen as a tactician without an overall strategy of his plan for the country.

The President's political travel is going to get blamed (and probably rightly) for a share of this downturn.

This is easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but I think it once again points out how very important style of leadership, that is the way he does what he does, is to his perception.

Whatever he does should be seen as working at the Presidency and if he goes to Colorado for Christmas, it should be for a minimum amount of time, the family tradition and family get-together aspect emphasized, and it be seen as a working vacation.

Also the fact that anything he does is seen and heard by the entire country, not just his actual audience or those who live in the region he happens to be in.

Look at the declining television coverage. Look at the declining voting rate. Economics and economic news is what moves the country now, not politics.

People just automatically say 'If this guy is George and Barbara Bush's son, we don't have any question about those personal qualities that we were fooled on by Clinton.'