Wandering through an airport recently, I noticed a traveler wearing a T-shirt with a telling logo — “I suffer from Bush fatigue” — and started wondering if that might help explain the president’s plummeting poll numbers.

Are we just tired of him? It would be an interesting question for pollsters to ask. In the Pew Research Center survey made public last week, a meager 33 percent said they approved of George W. Bush’s performance. It’s a safe bet that a sizable number are growing weary of him despite their loyalty. Like it or not, presidents are like national talk show hosts — only the most skilled can keep us watching without wearing us out.

The Sept. 11 attacks, two wars and the worst natural disaster in U.S. history seemed to have packed a full eight years of two presidential terms into the five years and two months of Bush’s tenure so far. We are hearing a lot about White House aides losing their steam and their stamina in the wake of the Bush era’s nonstop drama, but it also could be said of the public.

Perhaps eight years is too long for the modern world to abide any president. We live in a remote-control age of frenzied impatience. Even a microwave oven seems to take too long. As Jimmy Carter left office, he proposed changing the Constitution to provide one six-year presidential term with no re-election, arguing that this was enough time to get something done without having to pander for votes to stay in office.

Right now, the Bush presidency feels like a six-year term with little more than an epilogue ahead — unless the president follows through on his saber rattling with Iran and plunges us into conflict there. Americans might prefer fatigue to the drama of another war. Some in Republican circles suggest that a few White House firings could get the country excited about Bush again; but only replacing Vice President Dick Cheney or Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld would get much attention outside Washington, and probably would be about as long-lasting and beneficial as a hit of crack cocaine.

In the waning quarter of Bill Clinton’s presidency, we talked a lot about “Clinton Fatigue,” mostly from the Monica Lewinsky saga and the impeachment imbroglio it provoked. Although Clinton beat the rap in a Senate trial, he never really overcame that public wariness and was unable to do big things in his final couple of years.

Bush fatigue is largely driven by disillusionment with a war in Iraq that seems to be a black hole. If people are not tired of their president, they are certainly tired of this war. A March 12 CBS News poll showed 70 percent saying the war was “not worth the loss of American life and other costs,” an 11-percentage-point rise from the same pollster’s findings last summer.

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, I can find only one silver lining for Bush in recent polls showing his approval ratings stuck in the 30s: At least he has a solid one-third of the country behind him in the worst of times, mired as we are in the third year of an increasingly unpopular war. He could also argue that if they did polling in Abraham Lincoln’s day he, too, would have registered well below 40 percent approval in the third year of the Civil War, before the burning of Atlanta turned the war — and the public — to Lincoln’s favor.

If Bush cannot turn the tide of war to his advantage — or if cleaning house in the West Wing would not work — how does he bounce back up in the estimation of disgruntled Americans? Some plain talk in relaxed settings with average voters could help, although the president has tried a few marathon town halls that did not boost his appeal. Those sessions are so packed with sycophantic supporters, however, that they do not come across as real give-and-take.

Ultimately, I do not see a way out of Bush fatigue. When people are tired of you, they stop listening to you. And that is the president’s biggest problem. His message is not getting out because the relentless repetition of his rhetoric is sounding like reruns of a television show we have already seen several times. The major offensive against Iraqi insurgents, much heralded by the Pentagon and the White House last week, might be one way for Bush to get his momentum back — both in the war zone and back home in the polls.

Military maneuvers and new speechwriters could improve Bush’s standing, but my guess is that for any real change he will have to look within himself and present something entirely new and different. A deeply personal discussion of his addictions, and his apparent victory over them, would bring attention and reveal more dimensions to his personality. A frank talk about his religious beliefs, although well known, could enlighten us.

Only a surprisingly fresh look at Bush as a person is likely to reignite interest in his presidency, unless yet another upending crisis befalls the country on his watch. Surely, even Bush would not wish that.

Contributing Editor Craig Crawford is a news analyst for MSNBC, CNBC and “The Early Show” on CBS. He can be reached at ccrawford@cq.com.