Prometheus 6

Reminder of note, from the NY Times:

But as the hour passed, Bush kept coming back to the thing most on his mind: his second term.

''I'm going to come out strong after my swearing in,'' Bush said, ''with fundamental tax reform, tort reform, privatizing of Social Security.'' The victories he expects in November, he said, will give us ''two years, at least, until the next midterm. We have to move quickly, because after that I'll be quacking like a duck.''

Bush's agenda may face hurdles
Deficit, Iraq war seen as challenges
By Anne E. Kornblut and Susan Milligan, Globe Staff | November 7, 2004

WASHINGTON -- From a pending invasion of Fallujah to a proposed overhaul of Social Security, President Bush came out blazing immediately after his victory last week with plans for forceful policy strokes at home and abroad -- suggesting he will waste little time before he begins spending his unexpectedly large reservoir of political capital.

With an expanded Republican majority in Congress, Bush intends to revamp the nation's largest domestic program as soon as possible, and has already talked to aides about plans to "start on Social Security now," as he said last week. Although his most immediate priority is organizing his governing team -- Bush is spending this weekend at Camp David working on changes to his Cabinet -- the president is also laying the groundwork to request about $70 billion in additional spending for Iraq as early as January, as well as to renew the drive for his stalled energy bill.

All the while, the US military is ramping up strikes on Iraqi insurgents ahead of elections there next year -- after holding off for months during the presidential campaign here.

But Bush's full-speed-ahead approach, despite his strong victory last Tuesday, has yet to take into account serious hurdles that may be beyond his control. The deficit is soaring. Some congressional Republicans are less eager to reorganize Social Security. The continuing combat in Iraq, not to mention the ongoing threat of terrorist attacks, threatens to consume much of the political oxygen he might need to push a bold agenda across Capitol Hill.

"The number one danger, of course, is that Iraq will implode," University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato said. "If it ever really became critical, it could just take over his agenda. And if the inevitable Supreme Court appointment comes early in the term, that could also be the jolly green giant that ate his agenda, because it will unleash so many emotions on the right and the left."