December 1, 2004
TO BOLDLY GO:
Bush's goals still big, bold: Daunting reforms, in unorthodox order, are born of confidence, but
leave room for a fall. (Linda Feldmann, 12/02/04, CS Monitor)
George W. Bush could have built a second term around finishing the Herculean tasks begun in his first, foremost among them defeating global terrorism and remaking the map of the Middle East by setting Iraq on a course toward stable democracy. Indeed, an important appeal to swing voters in last month's election was the plea to "let me finish the job."But a convergence of factors has set President Bush down an equally grand path on the domestic front, with emphasis on early action: his predilection for bold initiatives; the seepage of power that accelerates as a second-term (read: lame-duck) presidency proceeds; and a sense born of 9/11 that a momentous event - such as another terror attack on US soil or even a protracted battle over a Supreme Court vacancy - could sidetrack his whole agenda.
Not only has Bush made reforming Social Security - once considered politically suicidal - the first priority of his second term, he is also contemplating wholesale reform of the tax code. Add to that more tax cuts, an extension of the No Child Left Behind education reform, lawsuit reform, and a comprehensive energy plan. He also says he intends to halve the budget deficit in five years.
"Bush has the most aggressive second-term agenda" in modern history, says Dan Mitchell of the Heritage Foundation.
The qualifier is not needed--it's the most aggressive agenda anyone has ever run and won on. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 1, 2004 6:23 PM
Another possible unintended consequence of the Democratic left and the big media outlets' full-court press against Bush over the past two years. While they were successful in making the campaign close and almost winning the election, by doing so they eliminated the possibility that Bush could run on a "Morning In America"/"Bridge to the 21st Century" style platform that placed image over substance.
Combined with the post-9/11 reality, they made him run a more proactive campaign than not only Reagan and Clinton, but also more than what Bush himself had to due running for re-election against Garry Mauro in 1998. State property tax reform was the main issue there, but he wasn't as forceful about it during the campaign and as a result, it failed in the 1999 Legislature. By forcing Bush to state his positions more forcefully this time around, the Democrats and the press gave him more credibility now that he's been re-elected and Republicans have increased their majorities in Congress.
Posted by: John at December 1, 2004 6:50 PMIf Bush wraps up Iraq and gets SS privatization, I'll be happy.
If he also gets tort reform, I'll be ecstatic & edentulous.
If he also takes out North Korea, I'll get a statue of him put up in some local public park.
If he also takes out North Korea
Might as well tell him to go whack Castro while he's up. That plus the others and I'll chant "long may his line live and prosper" every time I say his name.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at December 1, 2004 9:47 PMMH: With the root-eden, edentulous would suggest a stronger feeling than ecstasy, but I can't find it in my Dictionary. Do I need an OED, or is it your own description of a state of perfect bliss? Or is it an arcane modifier meaning toothless?
Posted by: ed at December 2, 2004 10:21 AM