Free Republic

George W. Bush is still the President of the United States, but these days, he hasn't been acting like it. That once-reassuring confidence is gone. Left behind is what those of us who didn't support the President in the 2000 primaries feared most: an uneasy and uncertain presence in the White House. His approval numbers are at an all-time low. Some have vainly tried to rally conservatives to stand behind the White House, but to no avail. These days, the White House is on defense, constantly. The message is muddled and confused, and the boss is a shadow of his...

Following the Republican landslide victories of the 1994 midterm elections, conservatives watched in amazement as Republican “moderates” proceeded to completely squander the ground they had gained, culminating in the defeat of Bob Dole in ‘96. In the aftermath of this year’s elections, ominous signs point towards a repeat performance. Apparently, Republican Party operatives didn’t really comprehend why, in the middle of Bill Clinton’s first term, they won big. And to this day, political analysts still don’t seem to grasp the situation. Among conservatives, the conventional wisdom is that the newly realigned GOP Congressional majority had wrongly presumed too much of...

The post-re-election President Bush said he has acquired "political capital," and he means to "spend" it — on a second-term policy agenda noteworthy for its ambition, including Social Security and tax reform. That's an interesting little twist on the metaphor of "political capital." Perhaps it was a slip and Mr. Bush's intention in using the term was entirely conventional. But maybe not. What is political capital? It's hard to be precise, but surely it's some form of persuasive authority stemming from a position of political strength. It may be easier to think about it in comparative terms: Mr. Bush clearly...

"With the MBNA Political Capital MasterCard, every dollar spent or vote received will earn you one Political Capital Point. You can use your points for valuable travel, hotel and shopping rewards, or simply to further your mandate. Even better, Political Capital Points can be transferred into most Frequent Flyer and 527 Group accounts. With Political Capital Points, how you use them is up to you!" (Includes chart with ways to spend "political capital points")

Unofficial returns showed the president with slightly more than 59 million votes (about 52%) to Kerry's 55.4 million (about 48%). That made Bush the first presidential candidate since his father in 1988 to capture more than 50% of the vote. And it contrasted with the 2000 election, when Bush eked out an electoral-vote win despite losing the popular vote