It’s a necessary evil tucked into the president’s job description: the chief executive is supposed to also be a good salesman. Presidents have a unique megaphone and bully pulpit, which they have to use effectively if they plan on getting what they want.

With that in mind, McClatchy’s Steven Thomma makes a good observation: Bush is really bad at this.

President Bush now has what he asked for — time to sell the people and the Congress on the Iraq war.

But an extra 60 days from Congress, the addition of the talented Ed Gillespie to run the White House communications strategy, and a newly ramped-up sales pitch cannot change the underlying fact: George Bush is a poor salesman.

He’s never really sold the country or Congress something it didn’t already want. And when he’s tried to sell something the people or the politicians didn’t want, he’s fallen flat.

No wonder Newt wants Bush to stay home and keep quiet when it comes to war policy -- when the president makes a public pitch, his idea tends to get less popular, not more.