IHT: Bush's political capital ebbs away

[deminks]

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/07/opinion/edbremmer.php

Bush's political capital ebbs away
Ian Bremmer International Herald Tribune

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2005
NEW YORK Once a U.S. president wins a second term, his job becomes more difficult. Allies and rivals at home and abroad can see the end of his presidency and measure the drop in his political influence. Any second-term president must carefully maintain his political capital if he hopes to successfully push an agenda, and George W. Bush's capital has taken some serious hits in recent weeks.

But for most Americans, it's what administration officials have said about the war in Iraq that cuts deepest into the president's credibility - and therefore his political capital. Assertions that the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes" have been challenged by senior brass. Promises that Iraqi elections marked a turning point in the conflict suggest to many Americans the president may not fully understand what's happening there.

Even U.S. allies are now less willing to cooperate with the administration. Despite recent improvements in U.S.-Saudi relations, the Saudis ignored White House pressure and refused last month to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to find out if the Saudis are developing a nuclear program. There remain no indications the Saudis are moving toward a nuclear-weapons capability, but the Saudi refusal raises doubts and reminds the administration that, even with strategic allies, its influence is increasingly limited.

It's said that second-term presidents have 18 months to govern before they're dismissed as lame ducks. Unless the current dynamic changes, George W. Bush may not be so lucky.

[phantom power]

1. Does he need "political capital?" He owns the House and Senate.

[BillZBubb]

2. And the DLC!

Political capital is a bullshit notion. Who's got the votes in Congress is what matters. Busholini has the votes to get almost anything he wants except Social Security. He can veto anything he doesn't want.

The Democrats in congress are split and weak. The 2006 elections are really all that matters as far as "political capital". And given the results in the recent Ohio election, it doesn't look good for the Democrats.

[tibbiit]

3. when will people realize

Words like Political capital and lame duck, lower poll numbers etc mean nothing to the bush admin. They are going to do what they want to do regardless of what anyone else thinks.
Bush will get some kind of social security private accounts, and all the other bs he wants. They will just declare it so and that will be it.
Bush and the neocons are not lame ducks because they reject the concept.
they are a dictatorship/plutocracy/hegemony and they are here for the duration... I dont believe we will see the end of them in 2008. Jeb will be prez no matter what. America is over, and we might as well realize it... to somehow counter this. They are always several steps ahead, just like the admin person said a few years ago.
tib

we are fucked?
are we fucked?
(yes sadly I now think we are except for a few bright moments here and there)

[wli]

4. yes, these fascists won't leave the White House voluntarily

They're quite aware that at least half the country wants them jailed for their criminal activities, and they have enough hired guns to blow us all away.

Their strategy for dealing with peaceniks is pepperspray and REX 84 concentration camps. Be forewarned before presenting a convenient target for police brutality and mass arrests (or worse yet military assault).