By Joe Gandelman
In the end, President George Bush played a high-stakes card game with the Democratic controlled Senate, went on the offensive on TV and got just
what he wanted:
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Although Democratic leaders expressed disappointment that it had passed, the bottom line was that the vote passed via a coalition of 16 Democrats and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman joining all 43 Republicans to pass the measure. Lieberman said:
“We’re at war. The enemy wants to attack us,” Lieberman said during the Senate debate. “This is not the time to strive for legislative perfection.
The White House was pleased — but some others weren’t:
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From a strictly political standpoint, if the TPM piece is indeed true, Bush held out for the strongest deal he could get, went on TV and seemingly scared some Democrats to go along with him (some other Democrats clearly agreed the law update was needed) since his TV talk centered on how critical it was to give government these new updated tools to protect the U.S. And it worked — indicating a) he still has a lot of clout since he can peel off wavering or sympathetic Democrats so they join in coalition with GOPers and b) if it worked this time chances are this tactic will be used on other high-stakes measures.
Likely outcome: it’s going to further hurt the Democratic leadership with its base since it will be seen to be the equivalent of former Majority Leader Bill Frist, who seemed powerless and outmaneuvered on key votes.
Reaction from administration critics on the web, Democrats and some Republicans who are uneasy over giving this administration any new powers is likely to be swift.
The always independent-minded
The Talking Dog, for instance, writes:
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Its 2007, now, and Democrats are in control of both houses of Congress (really?), Iraq has gone to hell in a hand-basket (and will keep going further and further to hell), the President’s ideological and heavy-handed tactics have been widely discredited, the Attorney General blatantly lies to Congress and no one takes any action to stop him, the President’s approval rating hovers in the 20’s… and yet.
Further down TTD writes:
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And after over 6 1/2 years of disastrous administration of our government by George W. Bush, Democratic members of Congress seem incapable of figuring this out. Remarkable. A long– a very long– 534 days to go.
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