As I argue in Heads in the Sand, it's important to approach these things from a self-confident point-of-view rather than a defensive one. When Bush says something outrageous, you have to act like you're outraged not like you're frightened that his outrageous statements will cause the voters to punish you. Confidence alone, obviously, isn't nearly enough to win political fights but it is a necessary precondition of doing so.
This has most obviously been an issue for so-called national security issues over the past few years, but it's also been an issue pretty much across the board for Democrats. Too often they sound like they're apologizing for themselves, buying into media narratives that core Democratic principles are somehow unpopular even when polls show otherwise.