Stardate 20010613.0502 (On Screen): It's an interesting state of affairs. I think maybe President Bush is beginning to learn a bit of humility. His term in office is certainly not going the way he expected it to.
To an even greater extent than any of the other Washington-outsiders who have been elected President in recent memory (Eisenhower, Carter, Bush Sr., Clinton) Bush Jr. came to the Whitehouse breathing fire and ready to lead a revolution. With control over both the Senate and House, he proceeded to move rapidly with radical programs. And he started getting resistance. The more radical his program became, the more resistance grew — and finally he alienated a member of his own party so badly that Senator Jeffords left the Republican party and took away the Republican Party's control over the Senate. Now Bush is visiting Europe and getting a lot of negative feedback from allies there about his programs, and Japan is also pushing back.
It's been said that the "President of the US is the most powerful man alive" and perhaps that's true. But that doesn't make him emperor, able to rule by decree. The President is powerful because of his ability to influence events, not through ability to control them. He still has to make deals and he still has to to compromise. I think Bush Jr. is finally beginning to grow up. (discuss)
