Down in The Mouth

By SOPHFRONIA SCOTT GREGORY

GEORGE BUSH HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN UPBEAT, WHISTLE-WHILE-you-work, stay-the-course kind of guy. Yet top aides to the President say he is depressed about his political position, running behind Ross Perot in nationwide opinion surveys, and despondent that his "loyal" advisers are bad-mouthing him to the press. "These guys tell him where to go, what to do, how to stand, what to say," says one Bush confidante, "and when none of it works, they turn around and blame him." Even old friends in Texas are sending rumblings to Washington that Bush might not have the "fire in the belly" to beat a man like Perot. Quick to attack any perception of weakness, Bush reminded G.O.P. backers in Atlanta, "Lest you think I've lost the fire, I'm ready."