Bush's empty political piggy bank

When George W. Bush was first re-elected, he told the American people that he had an awful lot of political capital and that he intended to spend it. And, in a way, he tried–with Social Security reform, a plan that fell flat on its face.

Sixteen months later, that political piggy bank is busted. That's because an unpopular war in Iraq has driven the president's approval ratings to an all-time low. And now he has another problem on his hands–his own Republicans. They're opposing him on, of all things, his signature issue–national security. It's a fight they're having on everything from the Dubai ports deal to the oversight of National Security Agency wiretaps. As Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told me, "I think the administration has looked at the legitimate power of the executive during a time of war and taken it to extremes."

It's interesting that Republicans would face off on national security, which is, of course, their strong suit. It makes Democrats gleeful–because, according to one pollster I spoke with, any division within the GOP ranks on that issue is good for Democrats.

But there is one small problem for Democrats: They disagree about what to do about Iraq, which is the nation's greatest national security issue. So will they be able to take advantage of the GOP disarray on national security? The jury is still out–and so far, at least, the polls show that Americans trust the GOP more to manage their security and trust the Democrats more to manage their checkbooks.