Bush Fighting Lame Duck Status

President Turns To Executive Action To Get Some Of His Agenda Done Without Congress

(AP)  The door is closing on President Bush's opportunity to shape domestic policy.

His strength is sapped by an unpopular war, Democrats are running Congress, and the 2008 presidential election is in full roar, distracting attention from the president's priorities. With dwindling options, Mr. Bush has decided he might get more done in his final months by going it alone.

Outgoing presidents often unleash a flurry of executive orders and regulations in a last-minute attempt to leave their mark on U.S. policy. Frustrated by Congress' inability or unwillingness to pass the president's agenda, the administration already is taking steps to do it through executive action.

With his immigration bill dead, the administration rolled out a proposed rule to address some of the major issues in the failed legislation. It will tighten border security, streamline guest-worker programs and pressure employers to fire illegal immigrant workers.

Mr. Bush said it was an example of acting within the boundaries of existing law when Congress failed to act.

Energy is another area where Mr. Bush is ready to go solo.

In his State of the Union address in January, Mr. Bush urged Congress to expand the use of alternative fuels to cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The president's energy proposal — dubbed 20 in 10 — aims to cut gasoline use by 20 percent in 10 years.

With the House and Senate struggling to compromise on their own energy measures, the president asked the head of the Environmental Protection Agency and Cabinet secretaries to see how much of his energy proposal could be accomplished through regulation — without congressional action.

"The president hopes Congress will return to Washington in September ready to work," said Joel Kaplan, Mr. Bush's deputy chief of staff for policy. "Now with that said, of course we're considering things that the president can do through his executive and administrative authorities. But, again, there's a long way to go in the legislative calendar."

Congress is on its August break, and the president is spending a working vacation at his Texas ranch.

With 17 months left in office, Mr. Bush has veto power and an arsenal of other executive powers to change policy. But his critics say he moved across a symbolic line toward lame duck status on Monday when his longtime political adviser, Karl Rove, announced he was leaving — the latest in a growing line of senior officials to head for the door in the closing months of the administration.

Rove said there was unfinished business on energy, education and health care that the president would continue to pursue — with or without Congress' help. Rove said the administration might end up doing things by executive action.

"We have No Child Left Behind, which we can either do by law or regulation; we want to do it by law," Rove said. "The energy, 20-in-10 we can do both by legislation and regulation."

The Democratic Congress is going to be challenging Mr. Bush every step of the way — on his agenda, the budget and particularly the war in Iraq — as he runs out of time and influence and 2008 elections overshadow him.

[olebd]

Please just mosey on back to the ranch and don''t mess with nothin'' until you can permanently retire from public service and relax by the cement pond. No need to go tryin'' to fix nothin'' no more.

[mudrose-2009]

Please just mosey on back to the ranch and don''''t mess with nothin'''' until you can permanently retire from public service and relax by the cement pond. No need to go tryin'''' to fix nothin'''' no more.
Posted by olebd

What you''re expecting Congress to take care of things? Hahahahaha! The do nothings are gonna come back and oversight themselves to death.

[ov442]

why doesnt he just form his own congress out of his white house staff, have them write up some legislation that he wants, and then vote on it nice and unanimously?
It''d have the same effect as hes been doing since he got elected the first time.

He''s sidestepped congress, and their ''checks an balances'' since he got there, and Rove, Cheney and the gang have been orchestrating their agendas with impugnity from day one.

[clestes-2009]

When the dems take more of Congress next year, maybe even a super majority, bills will be passed. Since the dems hold Congress by such a small margin, it is hard to get anything passed because the reps keep blocking.

Like it or not, big changes are coming.

You know, Bush has gone it alone before and it has always ended up a disaster. He really is completely unfit for a leadership role. He cannot evolve and change to evolving and changing circumstances. A good leader can look back at what he has done, analyze it and make changes based on what has happened.

Just being stupidly stubborn is NOT a quality a good leader has. Least of all when his decisions cause untold chaos and death.

[jimfinster]

Mr. Bush:

Please just go play golf or ride around in your daddy''s boat till your term expires. Or go clear some brush. Anything, just stay out of the Oval Office.

[mudrose-2009]

He''''s sidestepped congress, and their ''''checks an balances'''' since he got there, and Rove, Cheney and the gang have been orchestrating their agendas with impugnity from day one.

Posted by ov442

See, it''s people like you I truly pity. You haven''t a clue what powers the branches of government do and don''t have. Then you sit there and make up stories. And the word is impunity. Something this Congress gets away with all of the time.

[mudrose-2009]

Just being stupidly stubborn is NOT a quality a good leader has. Least of all when his decisions cause untold chaos and death.

Posted by clestes

Leaders don''t turn on a dime based on polls, that''s what a Congress does, not a President. Having the courage of your convictions and the determination to protect your Country which is the oath of office every President takes is precisely what is expected of ant President. It doesn''t make him popular but after all that''s not his goal. You will be very sorry at some point in time. But that''s something peoople learn in hindsight.

[sgtrds]

Lame? Oh yes! Duck? Naw...lame as*s is more like it!

Five will get you ten the IF Bush actually leaves at the end of his term (hey there may be a "crisis" (like a war with Iran)that requires him to suspend the Constitution "temporarily"), and be back in a city surrounded by servants just like they''re used to. Most likely a city in a country without an extradition treaty with the US.

[sgtrds]

Having the courage of your convictions and the determination to protect your Country which is the oath of office every President takes is precisely what is expected of ant President.


Posted by mudrose at 12:50 PM : Aug 16, 2007

Courage and the as*swipe Bush in the same phrase is an oxymoron. He proved during Vietnam that guts are one thing he does not have around as anything other then to pour more booze into. He won''t go down in history as man that stood against the polls, but rather as an ideologue who didn''t know when to shut up and do as he''s told by his bosses, us. In case you''ve forgotten, he works for the people.

[sgtrds]

He''''s sidestepped congress, and their ''''checks an balances'''' since he got there, and Rove, Cheney and the gang have been orchestrating their agendas with impugnity from day one.

Posted by ov442 at 12:29 PM : Aug 16, 2007

Absolutely correct, but you see Bush and his supporters don''t understand or accept that there ARE checks and balances. They all failed basic American civics class because they think he''s above being held in check by the Congress or the Courts. They think being elected (even in a flawed election like his) makes him a KING or a new Hitler, with all the power his VP says he has. They would have you believe their lies that the president answers to no one. He does. He answers to the American people via our Representatives in Congress and directly. He works for us, we do not report to him. That only happens in a complete monarchy or a fascist dictatorship, both of which Bush and his supporters seem to think we have here in America. They''re lying.

[rwassel]

"Having the courage of your convictions and the determination to protect your Country which is the oath of office every President takes is precisely what is expected of ant President."

mudbutt - seriously, enough of the flag-waving, chest-thumping patriotism! It sure is easy to be courageous when you''re sending other people''s children to die in another country''s civil war, and then not even have the decency to attend ONE...ONE funeral. Oh, and determination to protect your country? That''s great, as long as it''s done IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COUNTRY. With your two qualifications of being a president, any yahoo could be one, not to mention notable dictators like Hitler and Stalin.

Come up with some new material - if this were Clinton, you''d be having a heyday, so suck it up and deal with it...everyone knows Bush will go down as one of the worst presidents in history.

[clestes-2009]

musrose

Your being self-rightgeous again. The only thing I will be sorry for in the future is how much work and money it is going to take to fix the messes Bush & co left behind.

Bush is not displaying courage in his convictions. What convictions? That his way is the only way to go? That is not conviction, that is arrogance when his way has led to nothing but death and destruction in Iraq, breaking laws that have stood for 230 years. Laws that were put in place expressly to PREVENT the instrusion of Big Govn in the publics lives.

His list of failures because of his "convictions" are as follows in order of importance to me.

Iraq is a quagmire costing 12 billion a month with no end in sight.

No badly needed healthcare reform.

No badly needed immigration reform.

No badly needed education reform.

No badly needed protection of the environment.

No badly needed energy reforms.

No badly needed money to fix old age infrastructure.

I could go on and on. Where is the conviction to fix these problems. In every single case, the problem either did not exist and he created it or is in worse condition now than before he took office.

[micma-2009]

Bush is mostly fighting to spin his way out of the fact that everything he touches turns to sh*t and that his Presidency is a complete and total failure.

[donnie900]

Its times like these a democrat calls: "Nothing to do anymore."

[rushlimpdrug]

mudrose - after the krap you wrote yesterday I can see you are just a child molesting wanna be looking for attention.

[fascistusa]

ZEITGEISTmovie.com.

Lord Bush is the Best EMPORER America has ever had.

Geeze.

[sgtrds]

"Bush Fighting Lame Duck Status"

Bush and Lame, rarely have two words ever gone together so well. Short of Bush and Convicted or Bush and Imprisoned, I can think of few others that sing as well together.

Of course being a lame duck means he bears even closer watching and harder opposition. He has nothing to lose since even a dolt like him must realize he''ll be thought of by history as the worst and most destructive president of all time (though I''m proud to say he was never MY president). Since he has nothing to lose he will, at the urging of his own Hermann Goering, the fat tub of pig guts Di*ck Cheney, attack Iran with nuclear weapons, thereby starting a crisis that we "require" him to suspend the Constitution and hold onto power. Or at least the little bas***** will try it.

[mudrose-2009]

Its times like these a democrat calls: "Nothing to do anymore."
Posted by donnie900

Well they''ve been doing it all along so why stop them now?

[navyretired2]

"When the dems take more of Congress next year, maybe even a super majority, bills will be passed. Since the dems hold Congress by such a small margin, it is hard to get anything passed because the reps keep blocking."

Be careful what you wish for...

[mimi611]

They should have been hung with Saddam

[navyretired2]

"I could go on and on. Where is the conviction to fix these problems. In every single case, the problem either did not exist and he created it or is in worse condition now than before he took office.
Posted by clestes at 01:25 PM : Aug 16, 2007"

The conviction to fix these problems doesn''t currently exist in the power positions of our government. The only guy that has the moxy and guts to challenge big business is Ron Paul, and that''s why you don''t hear about him, he gets shut out of the mainstream press, because big business owns it.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com

[rwassel]

I love when the nutjobs donnie and mudrose make no reply to any posts, and just keep spouting the same sh** over and over again...seriously mudbutt, no reply to my post? You''re getting soft...

[sgtrds]

They should have been hung with Saddam
Posted by mimi611 at 02:19 PM : Aug 16, 2007

I''ll gladly 2nd that. Perhaps someday after a trial in an international court (which I''d also gladly support turning his lying murdering as*s over to) he''ll get a sentence like that, one he so richly deserves.

[tibu987]

Hey, if it quacks like a lame duck and walks like a lame duck, it is a lame duck.
''Nuff said.

[mudrose-2009]

I love when the nutjobs donnie and mudrose make no reply to any posts, and just keep spouting the same sh** over and over again...seriously mudbutt, no reply to my post? You''''re getting soft...
Posted by rwassel

That''s because there''s nothing intelligent to respond to. Count yourself very fortunate I said this much. Ta.

[donnie900]

This is democrat political strategy: Get elected, and when you''re elected, work on getting re-elected. And they have the nerve to call Bush a "lame duck"?

[donnie900]

For the first time in this country''s history, a president has actually led.

It weren''t no: "What am I gonna look like?" It weren''t no: "Well, thats going to **** these people off, and **** off de oter." It was actually leadership.. A guy telling us how to stop terror.

Next democrat gets elected? They ain''t gonna do a damned thing about no national security issue. National security to them is some Dungeons and Dragons geek. They''re the worst thing possible for this country in these times of crisis.

[rwassel]

Posted by mudrose at 03:43 PM : Aug 16, 2007

Nice comeback - "ta"...ya think as hard about that one as you do on your other posts, there, chief? Cause it sure shows - and your refusal to rebutt any of the points I brought up leads me to believe that you in fact have nothing of substance to say, and you in fact know you are wrong...

Ta.

[rwassel]

Thank you, mudbutt and donnie, for proving my point on not responding to posts...I never thought I would get you two right-wing whackjobs to see the light and agree, but I did.

I think my work here is finished...

[sgtrds]

The one I really feel sorry for is Barney. There must be a way to report Bush to the ASCPA just for the pure cruelty of having to be his dog? That''s abuse of some kind!

[mudrose-2009]

This is democrat political strategy: Get elected, and when you''''re elected, work on getting re-elected. And they have the nerve to call Bush a "lame duck"?
Posted by donnie900

Do lame ducks use crutches?

[nggr]

It weren''''t no: "What am I gonna look like?" It weren''''t no: "Well, thats going to **** these people off, and **** off de oter." It was actually leadership.. A guy telling us how to stop terror.
Posted by donnie900 at 03:53 PM : Aug 16, 2007

the thing is, all studies on his strategy point to the fact that dude has created more terror.
and thats not leadership, a monkey could do that.
if someone killed your family, would you be their enemy the rest of your life?
yes you would, don''t lie.
i can fight terror better than bush. i am 100 percent positive.

[nggr]

he''s goin nowhere without turdblossem on the job!

[kansas1946]

Ohh..poor baby. Now he needs congress. He needs to just go into his office, shut the door, and shut up until Jan. 20, 2009.

[starleo146]

Posted by t_barr at 02:35 PM : Aug 16, 2007

I did exactly that I signed a petition and it went to all my rep. Lucky me they are all republicans which doesn''t help. I got a reply from my rep. and so help me he said,"He hasn''t been charged with a crime." There are check and balances etc. etc.I wrote back pardon me , how can we charge when he holds all documents and refuses to acknowledge he is part of the Executive Branch. The CIA leak which his chief of staff took the fall. It is time we do not use Party over what is right and seeing you belong to the Republican party maybe you can get these documents for the American people of which you represent. MR. Cheney thumbed his nose at the American people when he ignored Congress of which they represent us which I realize some Representatives think they are running this congress but they are there representing each and every American and better listen to them or they will be sitting in a rocking chair with the rest of us.

[likeitis5050]

Fun and games in Washington...business as usual. No one wants to share the toys. It''s not Dems. It''s not Repubs. They all play like spoiled 3rd graders on a playground after school using majority rules in all the games. If anyone objects...majority takes the ball and goes home. No one is really working to solve issues or even come close with a compromise. Egos have become the norm. Because Bush was so successful pitting one against the other for the last 6 years in the ''either with us or a terrorist/anti-American'' mentality, they don''t have the ability to slide from far right or left to something more manageable in the middle to get anything done. He can''t exit soon enough. This country, if it''s going to recover, is going to have to do it without benefit of the politician. They are damaged goods.

[sjc_1]

This guy is just LAME. Let''s leave the ducks out of this, it is an insult to them.

[drinuk]

LAME DUCK ! he is a F---ing Dead Duck

[starleo146]

Posted by sjc_1 at 10:18 PM : Aug 16, 2007

LOL great!!!! I heard other presidents wrote executive orders at the end of their presidency, but I wonder to the extent this Pres. uses executive orders. How many do suppose he has already written compared to other Pres.that would interest me.

[lostcountry1]

who cares about this piece of shi-? he will continue to lie, steal, and murder, until his final minutes in the white house.he will continue to try to pack the courts with his faithful "bootlicker" judges so his friends and himself can get away with all the money.why not impeach him? they say the dems. dont want to because then they will have no one to pick on. any news is better than no news. who''s betraying who? the sad thing is the next president will be the one with the most MONEY. they dont have to care about real change in america, they just need the most money. so far its hillary, or romney. were screwed for life if it always comes down to who has the most money.

[killtheliars]

I cannot remember a president who was hated by so many in the American Public, including myself. There have been presidents I disagreed with in the past, but I still respected them as individuals and believed they had the good of the country in mind. This guy is the enemy, and the amazing thing is if he died tomorrow a large majority in this country would be happy. an even larger majority in the world would be happy. Man, I wish it would happen.

[starleo146]

"A right-wing foundation with links to Cheney has called for Bush to be made lifetime president, ruler of the world, and for Iraq to be ethnically cleansed of Arabs by means of a nuclear holocaust. The Family Security Matters organization masquerades as an independent ''''think tank'''' yet was highly influential in President Bush''''s re-election in 2004 and has links to top Neo-Con ideologue

You know t-barr I was thinking today and it has crossed my mind before but honestly I tried to block it out and I will not be surprised this guy will not leave when his time is up this power he has built has consumed his reasoning and I will not be surprised at all. I do not think the American people will stand for it but look what happened in 2000 and 2004.

[vincan-2009]

Bush must work with congress to get things done from now on. He went it alone since taking office until the Democrats finally put a stop to it in 2006. He may still have his rubber stamping republicans but they know that Bush is very unpopular and they can''t stand behind him and win their elections. They may have to start thinking for themselves and not blindly going along with there losing leader.