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"A collaborative political resource." |
Clock running on Bush presidency
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Candidate
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| Contributor | The Sunset Provision |
| Last Edited | The Sunset Provision Dec 31, 2007 11:03am |
| Category | News |
| News Date | Dec 31, 2007 11:00am |
| Description | President Bush's final-year agenda is a stripped down list of what he can realistically hope to get done, since the clout he once touted is fading away.
Bush will venture to four other continents, get more involved than ever in trying to forge Middle East peace, and continue to command two wars that assure his relevancy to the end. As Iraq improves, he must now deal with renewed violence in Afghanistan and upheaval in Pakistan.
At home, Bush will try to extend two domestic achievements that are dear to his legacy — the No Child Left Behind education law, and tax cuts that otherwise expire in 2010.
Long gone are the big ideas of Social Security and immigration reform, which collapsed on Capitol Hill. His final State of the Union speech in late January is expected to reflect today's policy reality, eschewing new initiatives in favor of unfinished proposals.
As at any time, Bush has forces pushing against him. But the ones in 2008 are stronger.
A hostile Congress awaits the president as he returns from fishing, cutting brush and clearing trails at his secluded Texas ranch. Bush and the Democratic Congress clashed all year on the war, spending, health care and tactics for interrogating terror suspects.
"It's going to be a year of angst and struggle — more of '07," said James Thurber, an American University political scientist who researches relations between the two branches.
In political terms, Bush's last year in office is really less than 12 months.
The attention of the nation and much of the world has shifted to those who want his seat in the Oval Office. The Republican nominee for president could be settled by the multistate primaries on Feb. 5, meaning someone else will be unofficial head of the party.
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