2005: George Bush's Trying Year
tktk / CBS
This column was written by .
It was a year that began with so much promise for the George W. Bush White House. In his first post-election press conference, we were greeted by a high-horsepower president firing on all cylinders. He had handily beaten Sen. John Kerry, upped his margins over his Democratic opponent in the last election and attracted a majority of support from American voters. "I earned capital in the campaign, political capital," he said, "and now I intend to spend it." President Bush went on to recite a wish list of high capital agenda items he intended to open his political wallet for: Social Security and tax reform, moving the economy forward, education, fighting and winning the war on terror.
By year's end, his agenda had narrowed to just three key items: winning the war in Iraq, moving the economy forward, and pressing Congress for fiscal restraint in the budget. In between, that vaunted political capital was all but exhausted, and Mr. Bush was reeling from the lowest approval ratings of his presidency.
Choosing an overhaul of Social Security as his first big move — some Republicans say — was the first domino in a series of miscues by the White House. Many of his party colleagues in Congress would have preferred he start with tax reform. It was something voters understood, and an issue Republicans thought would be a winner. As it was, the president spent much of the winter and spring crisscrossing the country just trying to convince Americans there was a problem. Democrats launched an effective counter-offensive on the issue of private accounts, and by the summer, it was clear that Republicans had lost the stomach for what promised to be an exhausting and unpopular battle.
The resignation of Sandra Day O'Connor was also a huge distraction at a critical time. The words Social Security evaporated from Capitol Hill as both sides turned their focus to the anticipated fight over her replacement. President Bush artfully threaded the needle on that particular issue in choosing respected D.C. Circuit Judge John Roberts. And when William Rehnquist passed away, President Bush won kudos for immediately shifting gears and nominating Roberts for Chief Justice. He also managed a couple of major legislative victories before the August recess, getting the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, bankruptcy reform, highway and energy bills passed. Going into the break, he was still above .500 for his legislative season, though Social Security was a major loss. President Bush headed for the ranch, Congress departed for home district maintenance and everybody put their feet up waiting to see what fall would bring.
That's when the wheels came off. Hurricane Katrina was the most single damaging event to befall the administration this year. The disastrous response to the human suffering in New Orleans exposed huge flaws in the government's homeland security plan. If the feds couldn't respond to a crisis that had been gamed out for years in simulations, how could they possibly address a major terrorist attack — or simultaneous attacks — as have been predicted? Katrina was the second big domino to fall, and in doing so, slammed into others that were already feeling the effects of political gravity.
When the president's credibility took a hit over Katrina, a new wave of skepticism about Iraq swept over the presidency. The White House had neglected the issue (at least publicly) for too long after the January Iraqi elections. Officials made a conscious decision let the Iraqi government take the lead, and the president stopped playing politics in a town where politics was the only game. Democratic attacks went unanswered and began to set in the American psyche. President Bush's poll numbers on his two biggest attributes — trust and leadership — were taking a huge hit. But as bad as that was, two more devastating blows were just over the horizon.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. It was a year that began with so much promise for the George W. Bush White House. In his first post-election press conference, we were greeted by a high-horsepower president firing on all cylinders. He had handily beaten Sen. John Kerry, upped his margins over his Democratic opponent in the last election and attracted a majority of support from American voters. "I earned capital in the campaign, political capital," he said, "and now I intend to spend it." President Bush went on to recite a wish list of high capital agenda items he intended to open his political wallet for: Social Security and tax reform, moving the economy forward, education, fighting and winning the war on terror.
By year's end, his agenda had narrowed to just three key items: winning the war in Iraq, moving the economy forward, and pressing Congress for fiscal restraint in the budget. In between, that vaunted political capital was all but exhausted, and Mr. Bush was reeling from the lowest approval ratings of his presidency.
Choosing an overhaul of Social Security as his first big move — some Republicans say — was the first domino in a series of miscues by the White House. Many of his party colleagues in Congress would have preferred he start with tax reform. It was something voters understood, and an issue Republicans thought would be a winner. As it was, the president spent much of the winter and spring crisscrossing the country just trying to convince Americans there was a problem. Democrats launched an effective counter-offensive on the issue of private accounts, and by the summer, it was clear that Republicans had lost the stomach for what promised to be an exhausting and unpopular battle.
The resignation of Sandra Day O'Connor was also a huge distraction at a critical time. The words Social Security evaporated from Capitol Hill as both sides turned their focus to the anticipated fight over her replacement. President Bush artfully threaded the needle on that particular issue in choosing respected D.C. Circuit Judge John Roberts. And when William Rehnquist passed away, President Bush won kudos for immediately shifting gears and nominating Roberts for Chief Justice. He also managed a couple of major legislative victories before the August recess, getting the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, bankruptcy reform, highway and energy bills passed. Going into the break, he was still above .500 for his legislative season, though Social Security was a major loss. President Bush headed for the ranch, Congress departed for home district maintenance and everybody put their feet up waiting to see what fall would bring.
That's when the wheels came off. Hurricane Katrina was the most single damaging event to befall the administration this year. The disastrous response to the human suffering in New Orleans exposed huge flaws in the government's homeland security plan. If the feds couldn't respond to a crisis that had been gamed out for years in simulations, how could they possibly address a major terrorist attack — or simultaneous attacks — as have been predicted? Katrina was the second big domino to fall, and in doing so, slammed into others that were already feeling the effects of political gravity.
When the president's credibility took a hit over Katrina, a new wave of skepticism about Iraq swept over the presidency. The White House had neglected the issue (at least publicly) for too long after the January Iraqi elections. Officials made a conscious decision let the Iraqi government take the lead, and the president stopped playing politics in a town where politics was the only game. Democratic attacks went unanswered and began to set in the American psyche. President Bush's poll numbers on his two biggest attributes — trust and leadership — were taking a huge hit. But as bad as that was, two more devastating blows were just over the horizon.
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