Just 18 Months Left For Bush

President Enters Homestretch Of His 8 Years In Oval Office With Much Left To Do

(CBS)  By CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller

---

A check of the calendar shows time swiftly running out for President Bush. Eighteen months from today, a new president takes the oath of office.

"We see this milestone as just another day," says Joel Kaplan, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff.

But he says it's "a reminder that we’ve got a lot of work to do for the country in that time."

In a CBS News interview in his West Wing office, Kaplan said Mr. Bush still has "a very ambitious agenda" he wants to pursue.

The war in Iraq is the overriding priority, but "that doesn’t stop us from focusing at the same time on all of these other very important priorities like energy and health care," says Kaplan.

The president still hopes to enact legislation to reduce U.S. consumption of gasoline by 20 percent over 10 years and to make the cost of health insurance tax deductible up to a maximum of $15,000 a year.

But this second term hasn't been kind to Mr. Bush. Despite the claims he made after his re-election that he has political capital to spend, his efforts to pass Social Security and immigration reform bills ended in failure.

Nor do his prospects for the remainder of his term in office look any more promising.

He has all but given up on reforming the U.S. tax code — which during his campaign for a second term, he called a "complicated mess."

An advisory panel he named early in 2005 submitted recommendations later that year, but since then, they've only gathered dust.

"While there is still a compelling need for overall reform of the code," says Kaplan, "I think the most important thing we can accomplish over the next 18 months in that area will be to keep the Democrats from raising taxes."

The final year and a half of the Bush presidency also presents the prospect of more investigations by and subpoenas from the Democratic Congress. But the administration hopes it won't be hog-tied by them.

Says Kaplan: "It does require the Congress and the Democratic leadership to make a choice of whether they are interested in legislation or whether they're just interested in excessive oversight and fishing expeditions that are designed not to actually accomplish anything for the American people but rather to provide political and communications advantage in some way."

Kaplan has the right to hope, but it looks like the Bush White House is headed into a major showdown with Congress over the president's claims of executive privilege. The issue could end up in the Supreme Court

Further, the 2008 presidential campaign is well under way, and the president's approval ratings are in the cellar.

"I don’t think it will affect in any way what the president tries to pursue on behalf of the American people," says Kaplan. "We’re gonna keep coming to work every day, working on those issues and working with Congress."

But should we be listening in these final 18 months for the quacks of a lame duck? Kaplan says don't waste your time.

"Maybe we'll talk on January 19, 2009, and I'll think he's a lame duck, but not before then."

[ioweign]

Just 18 Months Left For Bush - still way too much time!

[infidel_us]

I'll bet CBS and the rest of them MSM can hardly contain their bodily fluids at the thought.

[sparks224]

George W Bush
The Worst President in the History of the United States

[kennergirl]

Thank goodness!

[down-ndirty]

Just 18 Months Left For Bush - still way too much time! Posted by IOWEIGN at 11:13 AM : Jul 20, 2007
_________

Agree. He can still do a lot more damage in 18 months.

"But he says it%u2019s 'a reminder that we%u2019ve got a lot of work to do for the country in that time.'%u201D

LOL!! With all the damage he's done in the past 6.5 years WE would be better off if he 1) quit now, or 2) didn't do anything for the next 18 months!

[rrphoosier]

In reply to the headline ...
THANK GOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[duffyn]

Terrible awful stinking president. 8 years of hogwash and *** everything up. What a mess!!!! He really is not an American.

[rushlimpdrug]

You mean he can't run again?
Not even in Florida?

[liberalme]

Can't stand looking at his smug face or Cheneys'
sneer--they look like what they are dishonest,nasty little kids who have to get their own way at the expense of anyone in their way!!

They not only need to be out of office, they need to be shipped to Siberia or some place comparably comfortable.

They are a shameful embarassment to this once great country.

[winnerindia]

'Just 18 Months Left For Bush'

Is it a very little time? huh ???? lol

Give me presidency for 'just 18 months' and see what I do!

haaa haaa haaaaaaaaaa

[williamfold]

ctornaught,

i think i'd be much funnier if his "staff" let it happen. it'd be a short run sitcom, but boy would it be well received.

[mike71067]

Then the Dumbocrats will need to find another scapegoat for all their woes, e.g., global warming, terrorism, hurricanes, ADHD, bad breath, and body odor.

[actornaught]

I'm trying not to get TOO caught up in my fantasies...

[infidel_us]

Then the Dumbocrats will need to find another scapegoat for all their woes, e.g., global warming, terrorism, hurricanes, ADHD, bad breath, and body odor.
Posted by mike71067 at 11:33 AM : Jul 20, 2007

I doubt it. They'll be blaming Bush for the next 20 years.

[bareemperor]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html

Don't be so sure, he ain't gone yet....

http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/47/17936

[down-ndirty]

I wonder if his DADDY is still proud of him.

I'll bet his DADDY still wishes it were JEB there instead of Shrub. We probably wouldn't have this war if JEB had persued the presidency. And JEB might have listened to the ex-pres instead of "that greater power." But then, who knows...

The "family" gave up on Shrub after his 24 years as an alcoholic. Then all of a sudden (under Rove's strict guidance) Shrub cleaned up his act, "got religion" and showed up on the White House lawn like a friggin' voodoo doll with Rove pulling the strings. (Maybe that should be "puppet doll.) The rest is recent history, bad history.

[bthompsn36]

omigod, 18 months to go?? This man, AND his vice, HAS to be removed, and quickly, or this PLANET is in really big trouble (there's already way more than enough trouble they've caused). I fear the worst on EVERY front.. even to the possibility that he, or they will declare martial law on the eve of the 2008 elections and call them off, in order to stay in power. I even think the Vick dogfighting charges are a result of a general moral decay this presidency is fostering!! It's become 'anything goes' for the idiots out there, because our 'leaders' have that philosophy.

[inventagod]

As upstanding citizens and patriots, we should make sure Bu$h and Cheney serves more than 18 months for crimes against humanity...

This has been the worst US presidency in history.

[briannorwood]

Just 18 Months Left For Bush....


HOORAY!
HOORAY!
HOORAY!

[sparks224]

Well, at least the Treasury has been Looted. So it's not like he didn't accomplish anything.

[mike71067]

"I doubt it. They'll be blaming Bush for the next 20 years."
Posted by infidel_us at 11:35 AM : Jul 20, 2007

Of course. Even now the libs blame Bush for everything from blizzards to heat waves (it's all caused by global warming, you know - and Bush caused that). Cindy Sheehan will probably blame menopause on W.

[jeffdavisr]

As the Bush Presidency draws neigh, one cannot help but wonder how great this man could have been if he had not been the subject of "politics of personal destruction, the conspiracy of the left to avenge Clinton Gore." The left is ruining the nation, and it won't be long before Bush is gone and the attacks against our nation start again. Only now, they will be in your neighbor hood and many of you will wonder why you didn't support Bush and the war against terror. I apologize Mr. President, these people have disgraced our nation and themselves, you deserved better, by far.

[tejasdemo]

I wish it was 18 hours for this absolute horror of a president

[mike71067]

"omigod, 18 months to go?? This man, AND his vice, HAS to be removed, and quickly, or this PLANET is in really big trouble (there's already way more than enough trouble they've caused). I fear the worst on EVERY front.. even to the possibility that he, or they will declare martial law on the eve of the 2008 elections and call them off, in order to stay in power. I even think the Vick dogfighting charges are a result of a general moral decay this presidency is fostering!! It's become 'anything goes' for the idiots out there, because our 'leaders' have that philosophy."
-Posted by bthompsn36 at 11:37 AM : Jul 20, 2007

See what I mean? The left-wing lunatics are even blaming Bush for dog fighting! What a bunch of idiots! Bed-wetting liberals are exactly like Hollywood actors - they're not the brightest bunch, but they sure are entertaining!

[jeffdavisr]

As the Bush Presidency draws neigh, one cannot help but wonder how great this man could have been if he had not been the subject of "politics of personal destruction, the conspiracy of the left to avenge Clinton Gore." The left is ruining the nation, and it won't be long before Bush is gone and the attacks against our nation start again. Only now, they will be in your neighbor hood and many of you will wonder why you didn't support Bush and the war against terror. I apologize Mr. President, these people have disgraced our nation and themselves, you deserved better, by far.
As the Bush Presidency draws neigh, one cannot help but wonder how great this man could have been if he had not been the subject of "politics of personal destruction, the conspiracy of the left to avenge Clinton Gore." The left is ruining the nation, and it won't be long before Bush is gone and the attacks against our nation start again. Only now, they will be in your neighbor hood and many of you will wonder why you didn't support Bush and the war against terror. I apologize Mr. President, these people have disgraced our nation and themselves, you deserved better, by far.

[CTBCo]

"...But should we be listening in these final 18 months for the quacks of a lame duck?..."

What kind of a self important *** allows this kind of a statement to be published under his byline with respect to the President of the United States of America? No wonder CBS News ratings are circling the toilet.

[realpatriot1]

To put it another way, only 13,176 hours to go!

[bircsak-2009]

Bush is just embarrassing on every level. What else can you say? A true dud.

[down-ndirty]

Then the Dumbocrats will need to find another scapegoat for all their woes, e.g., global warming, terrorism, hurricanes, ADHD, bad breath, and body odor. Posted by mike71067 at 11:33 AM : Jul 20, 2007

I doubt it. They'll be blaming Bush for the next 20 years. Posted by infidel_us at 11:35 AM : Jul 20, 2007
__________________________

Why not? You're still blaming Carter and Clinton for everything wrong in the world in spite of the FACT that a REPUGNICANT president has been in power for 28 of the last 39 years. And it's been a BUSH for 12 of those 28 years.

Go figure! Oh, I forgot, you don't figure, you just spew...

[iceman_1960]

"In a CBS News interview in his West Wing office, Kaplan said Mr. Bush still has 'a very ambitious agenda' he wants to pursue."


Among the items on his agenda, he's planning to teach pigs how to fly.

[rushlimpdrug]

See what I mean? The left-wing lunatics are even blaming Bush for dog fighting! What a bunch of idiots! . . .
Posted by mike71067

I remember when repubs blamed moral decay of America on demos.
This included violent movies, divorce, immoral televison programs, and tooth decay.
So shut up mike71067 cause you sound like a puzzy.
I'm no lib or con I'm an American tired of hearing the sound of krap like you dividing such a great country.

[misssuzq]

WHY CAN'T HE DO WHAT THIS COUNTRY WANTS BEFORE HE LEAVES OFFICE, WHEN IT IS TOO LATE FOR DEMOCRATS TO TRY TO IMPEACH HIM.....


STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION! STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION! STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION!

[briannorwood]

jeffdavisr:

Sounds like you have a little crush on Dumbya.

[tuma5]

8 yrs of utter rubbish...that's what you get when you elect a president based on nothing other than the fact he professes to loving Jesus and hating ***

[actornaught]

jeffdavis, hahahahaha! still fighting the civil war, i see.

Got news for ya, this president has disgraced this country. w's a total embarassment.

[iceman_1960]

"I even think the Vick dogfighting charges are a result of a general moral decay this presidency is fostering!!"

Now that was funny, you have to admit !

It reminds me of the time Eleanor Clift tried to suggest that Ronald Reagan was somehow to blame for the Rodney King beating. (Reagan had been out of office for years when that occurred.)

[tejasdemo]

I doubt it. They'll be blaming Bush for the next 20 years.
Posted by infidel_us at 11:35 AM : Jul 20, 2007


Try 100 years and deservedly so. Mark my words, as soon as Bush leaves office the people who will call this man and his administration the worst in history (not just recent history) will astound even you.

[iceman_1960]

"They'll be blaming Bush for the next 20 years."
- Posted by infidel_us at 11:35 AM : Jul 20, 2007

It looks like the GOP presidential candidates are not-so-subtly leading the way on this.

[ioweign]

18 Months from now...

George and D ick this is ICCt.
ICCt this is George and D ick.

ICCt, you remember GITMO.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression, although it cannot currently exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. The court can only prosecute crimes committed on or after July 1, 2002, the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, entered into force.

[dommiem]

UNREAL: THE DUMBO-CRATS JUST CAN'T VISUALISE
OR REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED ONLY EIGHT MONTHS AFTER
BUSH TOOK OFFICE, HE HADN'T EVEN FILLED HIS CABINET
YET, AND WE GET HIT WITH THE GREATEST CATASTROPHY
EVER TO HIT THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY..THESE LEFTIST LIBS EVEN WANT TO BLAME VICKS DOG CRIMES ON HIM'
THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL UNREAL..WOW !!! EVEN THE HURRICAINE, AND GLOBAL WARMING..THEY WON'T BLAME HIM FOR BEING SAFE FOR THAE LAST 6 YEARS,OR THAT THEIR CHECKS EVERY MONTH ARE STILL COMING IN ON TIME
AND THEY STILL CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO THE CASINO OR RESTAURANT OR CRUISES AND VACTIONS...HELLO...

[bellstreet]

It really will be 15-20 years before we know whether W was a good president. History shows many leaders (Churchhill for one) were vilified at the time of crisis and turmoil, and only decades later, given credit for their long term vision of what was needed at the time. I don't agree with W on many fronts, but let's see what happens down the road, and try to remember what we feel like today! You may have to suck wind and say he knew what the hell was going on with the terrorists, and did the right thing!

[rangerhawk]

I am waiting for the day that GW is gone. What a dispicable and disgrace this president has been. As a lifelong conservative and someone who voted for him once, I have come to despise everything he stands for! Which is nothing, other than helping the rich.

The worst President in American history!! GW Bush's legacy?

War in Iraq;
Largest deficit in history;
Huge American debt;
Our country overrun with illegal immigrants;
Failed education system;
Souring relations with Russia (after seeing into Putin's soul);
Continuing outsourcing of American jobs;
Bad relations with China;

Everything this man touches turns bad.....

[actornaught]

When this slug was first in news as a candidate, it was only about how much money he was raising. There was nothing about his qualifications.

Who's money was it?

[brianp55]

Bush will accomplish nothing in his remaining tenure because virtually no one will take him seriously or risk being associated with him politically. The best thing that he can do for the country is to shut up and stay out of sight for the remaining period of time that he has in office and just let us ride out the remining year and a half. This is what you get when you elect an imbecile with no qualifications as a bag man for large corporations and special interests.

[down-ndirty]

"politics of personal destruction, the conspiracy of the left to avenge Clinton Gore." Posted by jeffdavisr at 11:45 AM : Jul 20, 2007
_____________________

Dream on... Wishful thinking on your part.

It was his "politics of self destruction, his conspiracy to avenge Saddam's attack on his DADDY..." that did him in. I know you don't want to believe the truth, but the truth is Bush planned his own self destruction his first week in office when he planned the attack on Iraq.

It's well documented, all you have to do is open your eyes and open a book or two.

Stop blaming democrats. And stop using "fear tactics." It's old tactics and doesn't work any more.

As the Bush administration draws neigh (high pitched horse sound), we can not help but wonder how loud the "neigh" will be when Bush finally realizes that he will go down in history as the worst president of all time.

As the Bush administration comes to closure we can not help but wonder how much better off this great nation, and the world, would be if it had not suffered 12 years of the "Bush Dynasty."

[naber1961]

too bad it isnt 18 seconds.....

[jdubs63]

18 months is a long time........

[rangerhawk]

I am waiting for the day that GW is gone. What a dispicable and disgrace this president has been. As a lifelong conservative and someone who voted for him once, I have come to despise everything he stands for! Which is nothing, other than helping the rich.

The worst President in American history!! GW Bush's legacy?

War in Iraq;
Largest deficit in history;
Huge American debt;
Our country overrun with illegal immigrants;
Failed education system;
Souring relations with Russia (after seeing into Putin's soul);
Continuing outsourcing of American jobs;
Bad relations with China;
He has left America's reputation tarnished throughout the world!

Everything this man touches turns south...

Of course he has made a lot of money for the rich and powerful!!

[rangerhawk]

I am waiting for the day that GW is gone. What a dispicable and disgrace this president has been. As a lifelong conservative and someone who voted for him once, I have come to despise everything he stands for! Which is nothing, other than helping the rich.

The worst President in American history!! GW Bush's legacy?

War in Iraq;
Largest deficit in history;
Huge American debt;
Our country overrun with illegal immigrants;
Failed education system;
Souring relations with Russia (after seeing into Putin's soul);
Continuing outsourcing of American jobs;
Bad relations with China;
He has left America's reputation tarnished throughout the world!

Everything this man touches turns south...

Of course he has made a lot of money for the rich and powerful!!

[rangerhawk]

I am waiting for the day that GW is gone. What a dispicable and disgrace this president has been. As a lifelong conservative and someone who voted for him once, I have come to despise everything he stands for! Which is nothing, other than helping the rich.

The worst President in American history!! GW Bush's legacy?

War in Iraq;
Largest deficit in history;
Huge American debt;
Our country overrun with illegal immigrants;
Failed education system;
Souring relations with Russia (after seeing into Putin's soul);
Continuing outsourcing of American jobs;
Bad relations with China;
He has left America's reputation tarnished throughout the world!

Everything this man touches turns south...

Of course he has made a lot of money for the rich and powerful!!