Does the base realize that President Bush is in big trouble politically? According to the Washington Post, one “conservative ally of the White House” referred to conservatives as the “last 35 percent of the country that’s really on his side” — ouch:

Many conservatives howled last summer at the prospect of Gonzales replacing O’Connor because they view him as unreliable on abortion, affirmative action and other key issues, and they renewed the complaints within hours of Rehnquist’s death.

“I don’t know what they get by alienating the last remaining 35 percent of the country that’s really on his side,” said a conservative ally of the White House who would comment only if granted anonymity.

We’ll know more about that last 35 percent when the first post-Katrina job approval numbers come out later this week.