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Bush faces tough challenges in final 100 days
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Paving the way for next president
On top of that, White House staff members are devoting valuable amounts of time to pave the way for the next president. The transition between administrations, always a complicated endeavor, is the first in the post-Sept. 11 world. And it comes with the U.S. at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bush has made clear to those who work for him that he wants a smooth transition to the next president. In terms of the sheer time and energy involved, Bush counselor Ed Gillespie said, "I suspect the last 100 days are going to feel more like the first 100 days than any of us would have hoped."
The last days of an administration can be filled with desires to wrap up issues, if not desperation.
Michael Green, Bush's former senior adviser on Asia, said he expects no dramatic gestures or concessions from the White House in the pursuit of final deals. He said challenges such as the nuclear threats in North Korea and Iran will be passed on in the best possible position, keeping diplomatic efforts intact.
"My sense is they're not going for a last-minute grab at glory that would put the next administration in a bad position," said Green, an analyst for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Meanwhile, just when all his clout was supposed to be gone, Bush has scored some recent victories.
He signed a civil nuclear cooperation deal with India and won approval for oil drilling off the U.S. coastlines, both of which have lasting implications. The White House holds dim hopes that Congress could take up trade deals with Colombia and South Korea if it holds a lame-duck session after the election.
No quiet exit
In what has already been his busiest year of foreign travel as president, Bush has at least one more trip left. He plans to go to Peru in November for the annual summit of leaders of Pacific Rim nations.
There is always the possibility of a trip the White House never announced in advance for security reasons, such as a final visit by Bush to Iraq.
Bush also is expected to do a final review of pardons and commutations. His predecessor, Bill Clinton, pardoned 140 people in the closing hours of his presidency. Don't expect Bush to do that. Gillespie said the president will likely make those decisions "well in advance of leaving office."
It was not so long ago that Bush, after almost eight long years and diminishing public approval, might have seemed on a path for a quiet exit. But then came Russia's war with Georgia, more Gulf Coast hurricanes and the worst financial crisis since the stock market crash of 1929.
Now Bush is out in front of the cameras a lot, talking about what it will take to set up the financial rescue program effectively.
"There will be a desire to work every day on this bailout, because they will want to have everything set before the next guy comes in," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. A conservative friend of the administration but a critic of the taxpayer-funded $700 billion plan, Norquist said: "If you chose to give the treasury secretary billions of dollars to play with, why would you want to hand it over to the next guy?"
The election is in 23 days. Said Gillespie of Bush: "People will not have any doubt that just because he's at the end of a second term, he's not letting up at all."
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