Bush camp shaken
Jessica Levy unravels George Bush’s domestic melt-down
One year on from securing a much coveted second term in office, President George W. Bush is not having a good month. A poll printed on the eve of the first anniversary of his election victory showed a majority of Americans judge Mr. Bush’s presidency to be a failure.
With the US death toll in Iraq passing the 2000 mark, and Mr. Bush’s Supreme Court nominee forced to withdraw her candidacy amid a conservative revolt, the resignation of the Vice President’s chief of staff and the indictment charges brought against him simply top the pile of problems currently facing the increasingly unpopular US president.
The indictment at the start of the month of Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, on five counts in relation to the leaking of a covert CIA agent’s identity, has helped maintain the plummet of Mr. Bush’s approval ratings. Gallup reported that at the start of November 55 per cent of Americans had lost confidence in the administration. Criticism over President Bush’s relaxed response to the Hurricane Katrina emergency pushed his popular support below 40 per cent, 15 points lower than Bill Clinton’s score at the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Mr. Bush stresses his White House “remains focused”. Yet the increased Republican majorities on Capitol Hill and Mr. Bush’s re-election seem all but forgotten in the current climate of scandal and mistrust.
The indictment of Mr. Libby, a founding member of the neo-conservative Project for the New American Century, has rocked the Bush administration. A grand jury spent the past two years investigating the source who revealed the identity of CIA agent, Valery Plame, to the media. Ahead of the announcement of the grand jury’s conclusions, there was intense speculation that the President’s own special advisor, Karl Rove, would be accused. The man described as ‘Bush’s brain’ escaped indictment charges but remains under investigation.
The case is vitally important not simply because such a leak is a federal offense but also in light of the implications of the allegation that Ms. Plame’s name was revealed to veteran Washington correspondent Robert Novak because her diplomat husband was a critic of the Bush administration.
‘Scooter’ Libby’s indictment is critical not only because he is the first sitting White House official charged with a criminal offense for 130 years. As an integral part of a central core of officials who drove the policy toward Iraq, this case has raised serious questions as to how the Bush administration sought to justify military action.
In an attempt to keep the chief executive’s problems centre stage, the Democrats have launched an attack on the President’s use of pre-war intelligence and motivations for war.
Furthermore, the case is important as, when the trial begins next Febuary, Vice President Dick Cheney may be called to give evidence. The investigation gathered momentum this June when Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and The New York Times’ Judith Miller were ordered to reveal the identity of their sources for stories they had written which named Ms. Plame. Ms. Miller, in honouring the journalistic code of not disclosing sources, served 85 days in prison before revealing she had spoken to Mr. Libby.
With the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist and the retirement of Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, President Bush is obligated to fill two of the nine Supreme Court positions. Being able to leave his mark on the make-up of the highest court in the land will have implications for years to come.
President Bush has not seized this opportunity without causing a ruckus. John Roberts’ nomination would not have pleased liberal Americans, but by and large it passed quietly for the President. It was his nomination, however, of his personal legal counsel and old friend Harriet Miers to fill the seat left vacant by Ms. O’Connor that prompted astonished criticism from both within and without the President’s party.
Some critics pointed out that it was absurd to instate a person with no judicial experience to the highest legal bench in the country. But some Republican dissenters revolted amid claims that Ms. Miers was not conservative enough. Forced to withdraw her nomination, Ms. Miers has since been replaced by Samuel Alito, a man with “more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years”, Bush argued last week.
Mr. Alito’s experience does not quiet concerns that his social conservatism will tip the ideological balance of the Supreme Court. The ultimate fear of many Americans is that the landmark ruling in favour of abortion rights (Roe v Wade) could be overturned.
These problems amount to more than the usual second term doldrums. With his popularity and credibility falling away at a steady rate, Iraq ever looming in the shadows, and criminal charges brought against members of his staff, Mr. Bush should worry. But so too should all Americans and the rest of the world. The reckless and quite possibly illegal activities of the current administration should not be left un-checked.
A traditional conservative commented this week that the best thing about Bush is that he’s only got three more years. A lot can happen in three years. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Bush will use them to restore his reputation.
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