What Political Capital?
President Bush goes to Capitol Hill to try to salvage immigration bill.
June 12, 2007 — -- President Bush, once known as the cocky Texas cowboy, made a brief comeback during his whirlwind overseas tour, but he likely will receive a different, and less friendly, reception as he arrives back in Washington.
And some may be surprised to learn Democrats are not the only ones feeling unfriendly.
Bush heads into the lion's den today, vowing to sort out his much hyped immigration bill, which would legalize up to 12 million unlawful immigrants. The bill stalled last week in the face of broad Republican opposition.
Bush may be emboldened by the warm welcome he received in Albania, but if the late-night comics are anything to go by, he's due for a major reality check.
"President Bush got a hero's welcome in Albania," Jay Leno said on "The Tonight Show." "He thought he was in Alabama."
With Democrats controlling Congress and Bush's sagging approval ratings, the president's domestic agenda has been gutted. There is no prospect of Social Security reform and little hope for immigration.
"I think the president has some fight left in him, but it is also going to be necessary to reach across the aisle and try and rekindle some of that good spirit," said Linda Chavez, CEO of the Center for Equal Opportunity.
Bush's opponents on the left and the right now are collecting Bush administration scalps. Some of them include the defense secretary, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the attorney general, who for now has escaped a vote of no confidence.
"Attorney General [Alberto] Gonzales made some serious mistakes in this U.S. attorneys' matter that's troubled a lot of people," said Lanny Davis, former White House counsel to President Clinton.Mr. "Gonzales should be his attorney general and that's his prerogative. The same position we took in the Clinton White House when the Republicans called for Janet Reno's resignation."
As if all that weren't bad enough for Bush, on Monday a federal court repudiated his policy of holding foreign nationals indefinitely without trial.
About the only silver lining for Bush is that he got his way on the Iraq funding bill. At least for now, the troops can stay there as long as he wants.
But with his term ending in just more than a year and a half, does Bush still have the clout necessary to influence the legislative agenda?
"President Bush is probably entering his lame-duck phase. He still has enormous influence over the course of the war," said Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. "A lot of things are going to be pushed off until 2009."
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