The poll numbers are in the gutter, but Karl Rove and Laura Bush are convinced that folks still like Dubya — just not his Presidential handiwork.

Which brings about an interesting contrast with the prior Administration:

[Marist Poll’s Lee] Miringoff said this spin was sort of a reverse of the line the White House gave when President Bill Clinton faced poor poll numbers at the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

“The notion then was, ‘You may not like him, but he’s doing a good job,’” he said. “Now it’s, ‘He’s not doing a good job, but you like him.’”

It’s always about the spin.