Posted on 11/11/2006 4:08:13 AM PST by MadIvan
On the morning after the mid-term elections, a humbled President George W Bush called it "a thumping".
But yesterday he described the disastrous result for the Republicans, when Congress turned from Republican red to Democrat blue, as a "great opportunity".
His aides were briefing that he now had the chance to build a domestic policy legacy and use his final two years in the White House to prove that politicians could get things done in Washington.
After a White House coffee meeting yesterday, Mr Bush chuckled as Senator Dick Durbin, part of the new Democratic leadership in the Senate, joked: "I do want to say thanks personally to the president and vice-president for their conciliatory gesture by wearing blue ties today.
"From our side, we think that is a symbolic indication."
Conservative Republicans and wary Democrats fear that Mr Bush might indeed try to steal the Democrats' clothes. "They talked about issues that people care about, and they won," he told the senators.
As a lame-duck president after years of poor relations with Democrats who were bitter about being frozen out of the decision-making process, turning opportunity into legislative reality will be one of the biggest challenges of Mr Bush's political career.
The message from the voters was that they rejected one-party rule in Washington and wanted to see whether divided government could lead to the kind of results Mr Bush was unable to achieve when Republicans were the kings of Capitol Hill.
Having been swept into power on the backs of their condemnation of a "do-nothing Congress", there will be pressure on Democrats to demonstrate that they can do business with Mr Bush. The president will want to leave office with achievements under his belt and use his power of veto sparingly.
"The Democrats should adopt a good government strategy rather than a take-no-prisoners strategy," said Senator Birch Bayh, a Democrat who served in the Senate for 18 years.
He believed that Republicans in Congress would adopt a new approach. "They've gotten the signal that people didn't like what was going on, that the well was poisoned. They're not going to be bomb throwers."
In 1996, President Bill Clinton and a Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives introduced a welfare reform Bill that became a landmark piece of social legislation. Both parties claimed credit for it. Republican presidents have also signed legislation sent to them by Democratic houses of Congress.
To the dismay of conservative Republicans, Mr Bush has already indicated that he agrees with the Democratic proposal to raise the minimum wage. But the centrepiece of his last 24 months in office could be a comprehensive overhaul of America's immigration laws.
His desire for tough border security measures combined with opportunities for many of America's 12 million illegal immigrants to become citizens is shared by more Democrats than Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Gardner Peckham, a senior aide to Newt Gingrich, speaker of the House after the Republican takeover of Capitol Hill in 1994, said: "Democrats will have to be very careful not to appear like they're looking backwards and wanting retribution.
"They won't want to look like they're the source of the problem. But they're not going to want the president to look good on any of these issues. The prize is the White House in 2008. Control of Congress is great, but without the White House you can't control the agenda."
Immigration, he suggested, would be "an interesting test" of whether genuine cooperation was possible.
The Republican Congress gave you many of those things as well. They stopped Harriet Miers and they stopped amnesty for illegals. They helped pass the tax cuts. They also ensured many of the freedoms you mentioned.
But I am glad to see you have had wonderful success. That's what it's all about.
But the press corps have curled up like Gramma's cat purring their contentment in the laps of the Democrats even as British spy agencies report on the huge number of terrorist cells under surveillance making ready to unleash an attack on the White House. But these "press cats" can only stare through sleepy, content eyes, canned milk dripping from their whiskers; as if this is Britain's security problem, not ours. Should this had been a terror plot news story under Republican control, they would surely have had their claws bared making ready for their own relentless attacks on Bush. The cat call would have been "It's Bush's fault!"
So for the moment, we have changed "guard" in the middle of a war, removed our leader on defense, Rummy and focused greater attention on health care, lower college tuition interest loans, the minimum wage and the rumor of possible 'war crimes' charges floating in the wind to be brought against Rumsfeld, now a private citizen.
Terrorists/drug lords in Columbia have even asked to negotiate a prisoner swap with celebrities, namely Michael Moore. Even Mother Sheehan is missing. Could this be the end of her highly publicized world tour?
Could the world tilt any more off its axis than it has now??
And I also wonder should Bush have really chosen to wear a Blue tie? I would have found it more appropriate in choosing the 'hair ball' color, yellow.
links:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/e1494.htm
http://www.amren.com/009issue/009issue.html
On a side....I can find no evidence that his mother and her family migrated here legally. Most 'evidence' to the contrary.
I hear you.
BEND OVER
Following that logic you should be for higher taxes.
I take you word for it that he said it. You sound honest.
Then, he's an economic fool.
I majored in Economics back in the mid-60's at a University known for that school. It was all bull then and more bull now.
The minimum wage is no business of the government in this society.
Well put
Same as in the WOT!
LLS
I agree... and we are all going to have to find a way to unite in VICTORY over evil... both domestic and foreign... and I am talking about "we" Conservatives.
LLS
Ok, so the Dems spend the last six + years being "bomb throwers" and win both houses of congress, so the Repubs decide that the people did not like what was going on so they are not going to be "bomb throwers". Uh, hello!!!!
Exactly in this world we never get 100% of what we want, many on this board exalt Ronald Reagan (and he was a great President and a wonderful friend to Britain) to great heights but he never got 100% of what he or they wanted. I suspect at the time were saying many of the things about him that they are now saying about GWB, especially on illegal immigration.
Bush should have a field day with this.The demwits do not have a agenda other than raise taxes and cut and run.
True. But, Ronald Reagan always knew what he wanted and never stopped fighting for it.
Bush is a self proclaimed Keynesian in his economics.He does not understand or has chosen to ignore Classical Economics which is the study and explication of why men choose as they do. John Maynard Keynes developed a false rationale for government use of economic controls and adjustments as a means of controlling society. Keynesian "economics" is a system of political management, not study and observation and it produces repeated recessions and inflationary pseudo-booms because adjustments and controls can only deal in the very short term while real economic changes occur in the longer term. Each failure of Keynesian controls justifies further controls ad infinitum.
One somewhat skilled in logic or who knows how to follow an argument would be appalled at Keynes's book. His argument simply does not make sense from one sentence to the next. And he contradicts himself and proves "A" by citing "B" then proves "B" by citing "A". Either the whole thing is a parody and he bit his lip when politicians took him seriously and sought his advice or the man was a simpleton.
The clock ticks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.