Image repair in President Bush's April 2004 news conference

As the war in Iraq heated up in March and April of 2004 and casualties continued to climb, President George W. Bush's reputation continued the downward spiral it had experienced during the past year (from 71% approval to 49%) as more and more voters questioned his policies and fitness for office. He responded to this situation by holding only his third prime time press conference on April 13, 2004.This essay applies image repair theory to the president's persuasive discourse in this event. Bush created the impression that he was resolved and compassionate. On the other hand, he repeatedly denied making any mistakes and so refused to apologize for anything. This may have created the impression with many that his resolve actually represented inflexibility and a refusal to face facts. His use of transcendence raised more questions than it answered. Understandably, audience reaction was largely split, presumably along party lines. Still, his discourse did little to improve his image; clearly he was unable to return his approval rating to the levels he had enjoyed in the past. Not surprisingly, his approval rating did not improve after this persuasive discourse.