I think that President Bush honestly believes that he is a uniter. I think he had honest intentions to work with both parties to achieve goals that both believed in. Unfortunately, his election was so controversial that he began his term with half of the country and congress pissed off.
Yes, Bush won the election, but he and his administration (in what I perceive as arrogance) never accepted the fact that they really did not have a strong mandate and they made few attempts to connect with the Democrats before rushing into their agenda.
The reality is that many of the issues Bush has addressed, are ones that Democrats have been wanting to handle for years, but it took a Republican to get it done, albeit not in the way the Dems would have liked. The problem is that in this atmosphere of distrust and anxiety, the Administration has not really been inclusive. They are secretive and anti-media and generally ignore any elected offical that is not a Republican(and do ignore Reps who do not agree with them - Paul O'Neil, John McCain, etc..).
While I think Bush wants to be a uniter, he and his administration's unbending philosophies make him a divider, and frankly that may be a more effective tool for him.
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Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
-Douglas Adams
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