Also, Bush, when he goes after the sacred cows of the democrats, after 2004, will be able to say,"I did not start off cutting and slashing, but tried to work with the democrats and put more money into their sacred cow programs, but now we know it just doesn't work to keep throwing money down these rat holes, so it's time for some changes." And, he will be standing on firm footing as he says it. I'd say there's plenty of history already in place for him to make such a statement.
He's out-pandering the panderers, and he's being praised by his supporters for his slick political maneuvering.
God help us.
With all due respect to someone who carries such a noble pen(post)name, I must defer.....President Bush was handed an economy in decline, a military out of money and with low moral, a drug enforcement agency gutted, almost every single agency and cabinet missing tens of millions, some hundreds of millions, some billions of dollars, our nations' secure labs in disarray, our secrets and security comprimised, nearly every aspect of the government politicized, thousands of Clinton appointees with knives sharpened and ready to do as much damage to the new administration as possible, an outgoing president refusing to cooperate fully with the transition of the new executive, claiming that Bush may not have really won the 2000 election, and it goes on and on......then after only a few months in office we are attacked(911) and are in a war to defeat our enemies (and rightly so), and anyone who has studied our history knows that during a major war(s), our country runs a deficit (it has been this way since our first war of independance.)
Now, all the while, the democrats and the big media, hollywood and the socialists in America are trying to convince as many people as possible that we are going to hell in a handbasket.
Personally, I think that under the circumstances, Bush is doing a very good job. Is he perfect? No, none of us are....but, he's got my vote over any democrat, any socialist, and any weak knee naysayer who may run against him.