|
|
|
Jewish World Review Sept 30, 2005 / 26 Elul, 5765 Time for Prez to remove the ‘KICK ME!’ sign By Tony Snow
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
George W. Bush must wonder what's next — a
plague of locusts?
Within the span of five weeks, the president has faced political
blowback from two hurricanes, attacks by swarming Democrats, a Supreme Court
nomination semi-battle (presaging an Armageddon struggle over the seat now
occupied by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor), a conservative rebellion against
his profligate spending and the indictment of House Majority Leader Tom
DeLay.
The onslaught illustrates a paradox peculiar to this
administration. George W. Bush constantly invites trouble by giving the
appearance of weakness on the domestic-policy front, only to have political
foes react in a way that makes him stronger.
Begin with the wimp factor. No president has looked this
impotent this long when it comes to defending presidential powers and
prerogatives. Nearly 57 months into his administration, President Bush has
yet to veto a single bill of any type. The only other presidents never to
issue a veto — William Henry Harrison and James Garfield — died within
months of taking office.
The budget has grown nearly 50 percent on his watch, and he is
vying to become the most free-spending president ever. To date, he has not
asked Congress to rescind even a penny in profligate spending (even Bill
Clinton requested more than $8 billion in rescissions, and Ronald Reagan
sought upward of $80 billion).
When he drew a line in the sand earlier this year on
transportation spending, Congress boldly appropriated an additional $30
billion. He approved the bill, effectively placing a "kick me" sign on his
backside.
There's more. He infamously signed the campaign-finance-reform
bill that has made a mess of national politics, hoping the courts would
issue the veto for him.
He defended himself against baseless charges of racism in the
wake of Hurricane Katrina by whimpering, "Guilty," during a nationally
televised speech from Jackson Square in New Orleans.
He surrendered meekly when Democrats laid waste to his
faith-based initiative, held hands with Sen. Edward Kennedy when Congress
turned his educational reforms into an excuse to enlarge the federal
government's role in local education and shrugged it off when character
assassins took down such judicial nominees as Miguel Estrada.
This kind of behavior has given the impression that George W.
Bush is more eager to please than lead, and that political opponents can get
their way if they simply dig in their heels and behave like petulant
trust-fund brats, demanding money and favor — now!
Howard Dean already has talked of filibustering the next Supreme
Court nominee, and the DeLay indictment has sent Democratic leaders into
venomous raptures. Harry Reid, who has routed tens of thousands of acres of
federal lands to himself, his family and companies for which his children
work, brashly complained of cronyism in post-Katrina federal contracting.
Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed oil and gas price controls, even as oil
prices were tumbling — and industry analysts were predicting $40 a barrel
for oil in the foreseeable future.
It is almost as if the president were playing rope-a-dope,
waiting for his political opponents to render themselves permanently
ridiculous. But all good things come to an end, and the tactic of waiting
for Democrats to choke on their bile may have run its course.
World events since Sept. 11, 2001, let George W. Bush define his
presidency through vigorous and aggressive reaction — fighting a war on
terror. Now, he must do something even more difficult. He must lead without
having a crisis determine which issues he must address.
It all comes down to how he defines "compassionate
conservatism." Does it mean he intends to spend like a Democrat and tax like
a Republican, or that he plans to unveil a free-market alternative to the
cruel and desiccating philosophy of welfare-state liberalism? Does he
believe conservative policies can do a better job of rooting out material
and spiritual poverty, or that limited-government conservatism is a
flint-hearted scam?
Critics in both parties are forcing him to declare himself —
Democrats assailing his left flank; Republicans blasting his right. The next
four months will determine whether he will ignite a Bush Revolution in
domestic policy, or whether he has completed all his significant executive
work.
His presidential report card already shows an "A" on foreign
policy, but with the exceptions of tax policy and judicial selections, he
remains a domestic-policy cipher. It's now up to him to decide whether he
will complete his term by earning an A, an F or an incomplete.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR contributor, and syndicated talk show host, Tony Snow's column by clicking here. © 2005, Creators Syndicate, Inc |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
