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Can Bush recover? Wednesday, Oct 26, 2005 By David Sanders Is it possible that President Bush could shed his current misfortune and steer his troubled second-term presidency on to a more positive course? The Harriet Miers nomination, Iraq and the CIA leak investigation have pulled the president into tough battles with both Republicans and Democrats that have undercut his ability to push a coherent agenda. One doesn't have to think back far to remember times when other Oval Office occupants faced tumultuous moments when events, not agendas, defined their presidencies. When Republicans ended the Democrats' decades-long rule in Congress in 1994, Bill Clinton shouldered much of the blame. In the preceding year, he endured the defeat of his health care plan in a Democratic Congress, angered the left and right with his "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military and the independent counsel was just getting started investigating the Clintons' old financial dealings. How bad was it? In December 1994, a Times Mirror poll showed that 66 percent of Democrats surveyed wanted someone to challenge Clinton for the 1996 Democratic nomination. His re-election prospects were pronounced dead by many observers. While many of Bush's problems are said to be out of his control, Clinton faced a similar reality. He was the first president to serve without clarity of purpose provided by the Cold War, voters' intense anti-Washington bias flamed, the budget deficit was out of control and the once-strong Democratic Party faced demographic challenges that endangered its long-term strength. His distracted and unfocused White House would find a way to hone its message. In the spring of 1995, Dick Morris, the man who brought the former Arkansas governor back from the political dead in 1982, would once again find himself at Clinton's right hand. Morris encouraged Clinton to meet and beat his adversaries on their terms. Clinton recovered from the 1994 debacle by winning a budget fight with the new Republican leadership, co-opting GOP efforts on welfare reform and pushing educational reforms that contained national standards and the establishment of independent charter schools. The rest is history. While the current president's issues are different, the systemic challenges are remarkably similar. Bush should play to his strengths and focus on new polices that could force the hands of Democrats and Republicans. First, Bush should build on recent successes in Iraq. While violence in the region lingers, a functioning democracy is beginning to take shape as demonstrated by the vote on the Iraqi Constitution and the opening of Saddam Hussein's trial. Without signaling abandonment or announcing a timeline for a total pullout, Bush should begin drawing down a small portion of U.S. forces in Iraq. Until the Iraqi government and its security apparatus are forced to accept responsibility for their country, they will rely on U.S. hand-holding. Second, the president should declare war on wasteful spending by Congress. By challenging Washington's time-honored practice of funding numerous pork-barrel projects, Bush should align himself with a small group of vocal Capitol Hill conservative Republicans who are pushing for spending cuts and the repeal of wasteful projects. He could lead on an issue passed over by most presidents by forcing Democrats and Republicans to either side with the American taxpayers or Washington's pork-barrel approach. Third, the administration should advocate a common sense border-control policy. Problems resulting from illegal immigration are a major concern of a broad spectrum of the country's voters. These voters are increasingly worried that Washington doesn't care about their concerns. Bush lead by increasing manpower on the Southern border and instructing the Justice Department to crackdown on companies and individuals who profit from and/or participate in the trafficking of illegal immigrants. So can Bush recover? He will need to shift Washington's focus to new policies before it can happen. Getting it right In a recent column I wrote that Paul Suskie, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, had once been a College Republican. That was an error; one that Tom Hayes, a former chairman of the University of Central Arkansas College Republicans, brought to my attention. Hayes joked that despite his best efforts to convert his friend, Suskie remained a UCA College Democrat while the two of them were in college. Hayes is still a Republican, but said he is supporting his friend's candidacy for attorney general. ------- David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com. |
