Second-Term Woes

With President Bush suffering two significant political defeats in recent days, is his presidency now permanently crippled? He continues to suffer very low poll numbers and has been unable to move any issue forward for months. He has been unable to capitalize on improving economic conditions.

Perhaps Bush is simply suffering from second-term woes. All recent presidents who served two terms (Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton) suffered major scandals and waning political influence during the last four years of their time in office. This may be the result of term limits, that once a president is longer running for anything, he becomes unimportant and easy target for enemies and friends alike. Conservatives have sought to distance themselves from Bush, particularly on the Miers matter while Democrats take glee in the current CIA scandal.

Is there anything Bush can do to break out of this conundrum? I think for Bush to regain the trust of the American people he needs to start anew. Get rid of Rove and Cheney. Rethink Iraq (not complete withdrawal but a new strategy). Appoint a Robert-esqe Supreme Court nominee. This would not signal weakness or defeat but an honest assessment of where the country is. I think most conservatives would welcome this move. Bush's message for the past eighteen months has been 'we need to stay the course' but this become ineffective when most people see the course as wrong.