Unsteady Leadership

The L.A. Times smacks down the "decisive" facade of President Flightsuit.

While he has been bold and unflinching on some issues — especially Iraq and tax policy — on a host of other fronts he has been uncertain, on the sidelines or inconsistent.

While he has advocated overhauling Social Security — a goal that may be impossible to achieve without presidential leadership — he has been vague about exactly how he wants to do it. Although for months the administration expressed doubt about the need for creating a Department of Homeland Security, he now counts it as among his signal accomplishments.

He fought a bill revising the campaign finance system, but signed it rather than using his veto power.

Indeed, he has not yet vetoed any measure — even big spending bills loathed by his conservative supporters. If he keeps up that track record, Bush would be the first president never to wield a veto since James Garfield, who was shot to death after less than a year in office.

"He is much more uneven as a leader than we're hearing this week," said Paul C. Light, a professor in the School of Public Service at New York University. "There are some issues that appear to trigger a determined reaction and others where he doesn't know where he stands or will go with the flow."