Bush's Third Term
The president hopes to put 2005 behind him--starting with the State of the Union
Bush also has plans to continue stumping the country to highlight the growing economy--as he did last week at a small business in Sterling, Va. He will argue that his massive tax cuts fueled the recovery and will make the case that Congress should make those cuts permanent this year.
"The economy and Iraq are legacy items," says a prominent Republican who advises the administration. "The White House will want to control the dialogue on them as much as possible. For a while last year, these issues got away from us, and we let the Democrats dominate the debate. We won't let that happen again."
Overall, though, Bush remains a polarizing figure in a deeply divided and worried nation. Gallup finds that 53 percent of Americans believe things are going badly for the United States in Iraq--a slight improvement from the 57 percent who felt that way last October but still a disappointing number for the White House. Bush's job approval is also up a bit in some polls but remains relatively low. A Harris survey found that 43 percent say he is doing an excellent or pretty good job, up from 34 percent in November. But 56 percent said he is doing only a poor or fair job. Perhaps most important, Harris found that 54 percent of Americans think the country has gotten off on the wrong track while only 33 percent say America is heading in the right direction.
Bush strategists agree that last year was the worst of his presidency. In addition to Iraq, the president was excoriated for the weak federal response to Hurricane Katrina. His Social Security initiative went nowhere. Public unease deepened about illegal immigration, American jobs going overseas, and a vast increase in deficit spending.
The scandal over improper lobbying practices in Congress--symbolized by the investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff--tarnished the GOP's image, as did the legal troubles of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Democrats were quick to pounce. "The Republican members of Congress," said Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter, "have neither the ability, nor the credibility, to lead us in a new direction." The indictment of former vice presidential Chief of Staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby didn't help the GOP's standing.
Studying up. To help him develop an agenda for 2006, Bush attended extensive policy briefings in recent months, conducted by specialists from inside the government. Among those who set up and participated in these briefings were Chief of Staff Andrew Card, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, and White House counselors Dan Bartlett and Michael Gerson. Abizaid's briefings were part of this series. Bush also met with the heads of various conservative think tanks, such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute--in part to demonstrate that he is not trapped in the White House bubble. But the meetings weren't just sweetness and light. Conservatives complained that the Republican-controlled Congress had allowed federal spending to get out of hand. Bush promised to rein it in.
One unresolved problem, however, is how to deal with the mushrooming lobbying scandal. Bush wants to side with reformers, but he is concerned that if he makes too much of it all, it will remind voters that both the legislative and executive branches are controlled by the GOP. That might fuel a throw-the-rascals-out movement in this fall's midterm elections. His solution probably will be to remind voters that Congress historically goes through reform movements every decade or so, no matter who is in power, and that this time the Republicans are capable of cleaning up their own house.
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