Watching George Bush deliver his State of the Union message last night, one could almost feel the bewilderment and pain of his Democrat opponents. How many members of the loyal opposition were silently asking themselves “how did our party end up on the losing side of this many issues?” Both literally and figuratively, they seemed squeezed into less space within the chamber. Nothing spoke more eloquently to this dilemma than the ink-stained finger held aloft by the Iraqi guest seated next to the President’s wife, unless it was the blue inked finger raised in reply by a new Indian-American congressman from Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, a Republican.
The successful Iraqi election combined with Bush’s record of dogged insistence that it take place, allowed him to cast his war policy as part of a global movement toward democracy that began when the Soviet empire began to crumble. He clearly stated his goal to extend the adoption of democracy as a remedy for the chronic malady of hatred in the Middle East and for Islamo-fascist terrorism. In so doing he positions his own administration as the ideological successor not to his father’s but rather to Ronald Reagan. Some pundits called his strategy “double-or-nothing”. Wrong. Texas Hold ’em is the card game of this decade, and the President has just called “all in”. The play of the hand will take 4 years, however, and during that time will require skill-sets of his administration more suited to duplicate bridge.
The congressional Democrats, still picking through the wreckage of their recent defeat at the polls, must choose which pieces of ideological baggage they keep or discard. Senator Clinton has proposed that the party’s abortion policies become more inclusive. Others have suggested that support for gay marriage is a needless losing proposition. These issues are cultural hot buttons, but on many public policy fronts the Democrats have few new proposals. This lack of new ideas leaves them at risk being seriously outflanked on domestic reforms such as education, social security, and tort law.
Article comments
1 - NancyGail
Don't worry, next year is election for members of Congress. And Pres Bush still needs a certain number of votes for a bill to pass.
2 - 4Q2
Others (Democratic leaders)have suggested that support for gay marriage is a needless losing proposition.
What you say...somebody should inform the *gay* guns that their support is eroding.
3 - Jim Carruthers
Actually, most of us in the rest of the world don't give a flying fuck at a donut what what retarded son of a bush had to say.
In the rest of the world, we are concerned about peace, development and prosperity. None of what that smirking asshat had to say.
So fuck GW Bush, fuck the USA, and fuck you for supporting a system which only seems to exist to attack the rest of the world.
4 - DrPat
Thanks for a reasoned approach to the positioning woes faced by Democrats in the US, Harry. (Although it looks like Jim's teenaged brat got access to his keyboard again! [grin])
5 - HW Saxton
Carruthers... Tsk,tsk.As self proclaimed
spokesperson for the ENTIRE planet, you
may want to check yourself on the over-
usage of curse words. Just in case there
are kids reading this,ya know? That and
it kills any shock value they might have
left in them.
6 - Diet Doc
Jim Carruthers writes:
"In the rest of the world, we are concerned about peace, development and prosperity."
Thank you, Koffi Annan...sorry, Jim. I am so pleased we have the "Spokesman for the World" on board with this post.
BTW, as previously suggested by another (Mr. Saxton), and as per your "U.N. Manual on Communication Skills Between People," you might be much more effective with a better command of the English language; it allows you to express your obvious outrage without slang profanity.
Cheers,
Ron
7 - DrPat
...the huge erosion of credibility suffered by the mainstream American media over roughly the last 15 years threatens an unelected Democratic stronghold.
Particularly cogent observation.
8 - HW Saxton
Does anyone other than myself get the
feeling that, if Mr. Carruthers lived in
N. Carolina he would probably constantly
bash S.Carolina?