Posted on 01/03/2007 2:39:26 PM PST by SmithL
WASHINGTON -- Weakened by election losses and hemmed in by time, President Bush is using what he's got left — a bully pulpit, a veto threat and a sudden interest in working with Democrats.
With two years to go in his presidency, Bush likes to talk about a sprint to the finish. One goal of that race is to remain relevant, and he tried to demonstrate Wednesday that no one should count him out.
"The Congress has changed. Our obligations to the country haven't changed," Bush said from the Rose Garden, backed by his Cabinet. On the eve of a new Democratic Congress, Bush's intended image for the cameras was clear: My team is ready to act.
He challenged lawmakers to control spending — targeting their own pet projects as never before. Then he touted other familiar priorities: making tax cuts permanent, defeating terrorists, reforming behemoths such as Social Security.
No slowdown here.
To assert his voice, Bush went so far as to spell out an entire agenda for Congress. It came in the form of an op-ed column in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, just before Democrats assumed power on Capitol Hill. The headline: "What the Congress can do for America."
"He wants to regain the initiative and put them on the defensive," said Norman Ornstein, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in the presidency and Congress.
"He wants to create a sense in the country that he still has a substantial role to play in setting priorities, and that he's on his toes moving forward, not on his heels moving back."
The president has a lot of forces working against him. For the first time in 12 years, Democrats control both chambers in Congress.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I stand with President Bush. End of subject.
I'm very tired of the slurs on a wonderful man, and OUR President.
We're not DU, but some here seem to think we are. NOT ME.
And back at youuuuuuu!
Well said...thanks! ;*)
Great post (#8)
Very insightful, cutting through the spin. Thanks for taking the time to post it.
Ditto.
(And, Happy New Year, friend---we're in for a bumpy ride.)
Many here are one-issue folk. Not that their particular issue isn't an important one, but they post just downright nasty things toward and about President Bush because he doesn't do what they want him to do. We are not going to get a president anyone will be 100 percent happy with. It won't happen. It seems to me that the Republicans demand that their candidate support their causes 100 percent, much more than the democrats do.
As far as I am concerned, the nasty posts about President Bush are disrespectful. There are also many posters here who let their discontent be known w/o resorting to the nastiness.
I'd like to see it but Dubya and his admin have been horrible communicators and honestly, I don't think he has what it takes to execute your very right, very effective prescription.
This is a wonderful site, and I just hate to see the posts day after day of constandly tearing down Our President, Our Troops, etc. and building up the RATS and RINOS and Castro, Iran, Syria, etc....
I hope whoever voted for these RATS have a wonderful 2 years, because as you say, we are in for 2 years of hell and I pray that our Troops won't be in the middle of it....
Free Republic is the premier online gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web. We're working to roll back decades of governmental largesse, to root out political fraud and corruption, and to champion causes which further conservatism in America. And we always have fun doing it. Hoo-yah!
I don't see "Republican" anywhere in that description. In fact, he might have written this, too:
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I think you can decide for yourself what he's saying.
At least anybody who can read and comprehend English can.
*YAWN!*
"Howlin fights to stay relevant."
"...but the fight will take place in the senate"
Have you seen who is IN the senate for Republicans?
Funny, that was my thought, too.
With two years to go in his presidency, Bush likes to talk about a sprint to the finish. One goal of that race is to remain relevant, and he tried to demonstrate Wednesday that no one should count him out.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, you're killing me...........
It is not I who is struggling to remain relevant; it is you malcontents.
What's it like to be wandering in the desert with no input at all?
Amen!
WELL SAID, I agree.
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