Who you calling "out of the mainstream"?

Bush's approval ratings continue to show that he's won over almost no one not in his hard-core base. Now top Republican operatives are saying things like this:

Charles Black, a veteran GOP strategist and close Bush ally, said Republicans are sticking with Bush for two reasons: personal affection and loyalty.

"I haven't seen anything like it since Reagan," he said. "Bush follows through on issues that are largely popular with the base, even when it's not popular with the general public to do so."

Doesn't "not popular with the general public" mean "out of the mainstream" — something the Republicans used to say was a bad thing to be?

And there's this:

For Trisha McAllister, a Republican from Grenada, Miss., Bush's willingness to ignore public opinion wins her over.

"I may not approve of every single thing he does," McAllister said, "but he's a true leader because he's not leading by the polls."

I, of course, translate that as "he may be leading us over a cliff, but at least he's giving us direction".

Technorati Tags: Bush, US politics