Bush ready to move past 2006 ‘thumping’

Kelly O'Donnell White House Correspondent • Profile

WASHINGTON — Just as it dominated the headlines in 2006, the war in Iraq dominated the Bush administration.

The war and all of its various corollaries seeped through the White House — from the shake-up inside the administration to the obvious voter discontent that resulted in the Republican “thumping” during the midterm election.

Will the war continue to shape Bush’s agenda in 2007? Or will the public’s dissatisfaction with it speed up the “lame duck” syndrome that plagues so many presidents in their second term?

The year that was: 2006

Iraq
During 2006, no other issue defined President Bush — his leadership and ultimately his legacy —more than the war in Iraq. Public support eroded and the president’s approval rating fell and remained at dismal lows. The president attempted to reignite popular backing of his Iraq strategy with carefully rolled-out public relations offensives in March, a surprise visit to Baghdad in July and another major speech in September. 

President Bush began to acknowledge mistakes, frustration and dissatisfaction with the pace of progress. The president gave up on his “stay the course” rhetoric and argued that he was in fact adjusting tactics. He rejected calls for a troop withdrawal and remains committed to staying in Iraq.

Government secrets revealed
One of the president’s secret programs made big news when it was leaked to the New York Times. The National Security Agency had been conducting wiretaps inside the U.S. without court approval. The president argued he had legal authority even though Congress had not passed a specific law. 

The administration gave the operation the name “terrorist surveillance program” in an effort to increase public support and reduce fears that the government was spying on ordinary citizens.  Critics expressed concern about the civil liberties and questioned whether the president went beyond the powers of the executive branch.

Another big secret was disclosed when the president announced that the CIA had been holding detainees in secret prisons around the world and subjecting them to alternative interrogation methods. Bush said that the detainees included some of the most serious terror suspects. The president insisted the suspects were not tortured and claimed that the interrogations produced valuable intelligence. Critics claimed the U.S. was losing its moral standing and some argued that techniques used did not conform to the Geneva Conventions.

Administration shake-up
Bush places a high premium on personal loyalty and so it was notable that he yielded to pressure from within his own party and beyond to make changes in his inner circle. Early in the year, a frequent complaint was that the White House had been slow to act and sometimes out of touch on issues like Hurricane Katrina and blind to opposition to the Dubai Ports deal.  

First to go was chief of staff Andrew Card, who had served since day one. Next, press secretary Scott McClellan was replaced. Treasury Secretary John Snow left. But it took several more months and a midterm election “thumping” before the president decided Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s time was over.

Nuclear threats
Four years after the president first called Iran and North Korea members of an “axis of evil,” both nations made threatening moves and provoked the world. North Korean’s repeated nuclear test firing and Iran’s refusal to stop uranium enrichment both presented foreign policy challenges and both rebuffed Bush.

GOP discontent
Bush can no longer count on his party to back his policy. This year Republicans began to voice opposition and dissatisfaction with the handling of the war. Then Republicans in Congress abandoned the president over immigration reform by rejecting his effort to create a guest worker program. And conservatives argued the administration had not exerted enough fiscal control.

Bush’s party also refused to pass the administration approved Dubai Ports deal that would have sold control of operations at several U.S. ports to a friendly Middle East nation, United Arab Emirates. To add insult to injury, during the election season, many Republicans running for office distanced themselves from the president.

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