“I’ve got the will of the people at my back,” President Bush said yesterday, “Let me put it to you this way: I earned capital in the campaign — political capital — and now I intend to spend it,” Bush said.
This will be my last post about the election. I’ve never been one to totally obsess about politics or who’s running the country, but I must admit this election was the most meaningful for me in my lifetime. While the party I voted for did not win, I don’t exactly feel the sense of impending doom that many others seem to be feeling. For example, Roe vs. Wade is not going to be reversed. Come on. We’re not going to start three new wars. We’re not going to be forced to pray and we’re not going to have a financial crisis similar to Argentina.
So I’m quite bummed out, but not ready to move to Canada. All that said, Bush’s quote above scares me just a little. We’re undoubtedly headed towards more conservative policies and there’s not much standing in the way for Bush to push those through. For him to think, though, that he has the will of the people at his back is just laughable. Political capital – maybe a little more accurate, but nearly all of that is on a credit card. Maybe the administration truly doesn’t realize the horrific mess they’ve gotten us into, but the interest rate on that credit card is building and right now, he’s only paying the minimum each month. He’s got four years to try and fix it. That is one incredible uphill battle, one which only appears to be able to head in two directions, ending up at endpoint: a) a stunning turnaround where all his gambles miraculously payoff or b) exposure as the fraud that everyone thinks he is. I’m hoping for former, but if it’s the latter, he may not be an eight-year president (see: Nixon).