GOP Success on War Resolution Lifts Bush Aides
The success of Senate Republicans in temporarily blocking debate yesterday on resolutions criticizing President Bush's policy in Iraq has heartened GOP insiders and White House advisers.
They say it shows that Bush and his GOP allies can still have a big impact in shaping policy if they stick together, even though the Democrats now control the House and Senate.
"Bush is still central to the Republicans," says a GOP strategist who is close to the Republican National Committee. The problem is that it's unclear how much longer–and on which issues–the Republicans will rally around the unpopular president and stay unified. Much of the discussion in GOP circles is "in the past tense" when it comes to Bush, says a participant in Republican strategy sessions–focusing on what Bush has done or tried to do, such as enacting massive tax cuts and especially waging the Iraq war, rather than on his agenda for the future. So, in the end, yesterday's success in blocking the resolutions masks a deeper problem of declining White House influence.
"Does scoring a touchdown when you're down 28 points really matter?" asks a senior adviser to a GOP senator who is generally sympathetic to Bush.