Pick made amidst tumbling ratings

While his approval ratings continue to drop in the U.S., President Bush has enlisted long-time confidant Karen Hughes in the fight to win friends in the Middle East.

As the undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs in the U.S. State Department, sworn in last Friday by Bush, Hughes is responsible for facilitating communication, with an emphasis on relations between the United States and the Middle East.

Hughes is not unfamiliar with promoting Bush's image. She worked for him as the director of communications when he was governor of Texas.

And her appointment comes at an important time for the Bush administration.

Before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Bush's approval rating at home already was at its lowest point - 40 percent - according to the Gallup poll from Aug. 26.

But the international community, which generally is more critical of the administration, has relented somewhat in its disapproval.

"The international opinion of the United States has improved somewhat since 2004," said Timothy McKeown, political science professor at UNC.

McKeown said he is unsure whether the appointment of Hughes will help improve relations with the international community.

She is not well-known in the international community, McKeown said, and her past experiences on Bush's election campaigns in 2000 and 2004 might not help the administration communicate with the rest of the world.

"An ability to sell the Bush administration to the American public does not necessarily translate into selling the Bush administration internationally." he said.

But other political pundits said Hughes' experience in the field of communications will work to her advantage.

Joshua Fouts, executive director of the University of Southern California Center of Public Diplomacy, said Hughes' skills will lead to better global relations.

"She has the right pieces of the puzzle to do a good job," Fouts said. "The expertise that she has can easily be translated to an international audience."

He said her work on the election campaigns will be invaluable to experiences in her new job. "The skill sets are largely similar, though the scope is bigger."

Fouts added, however, that other obstacles stand in front of Hughes.

"She will be consolidating an office that has been without strong leadership for a few years."

Hughes is the third undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs in four years.

Bush, at Hughes' swearing-in ceremony, said he encourages education and exchange between the United States and Middle East countries.

"- Spreading the message of freedom requires an aggressive effort to share and communicate America's fundamental values," Bush said.

He said Americans should learn about the Arabic culture and language and likened the effort to the Cold War push for citizens to become familiar with the Russian language and culture.

 

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.