# Is Bush's Political Capital Spent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 27, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157 "2005-10-27T14:48:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/21 "2005-10-27T21:34:53Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > Let me get this straight: You’re suggesting that if Cindy Sheehan hadn’t been doing her protesting during the past few months then there wouldn’t be anyone suggesting withdrawing from Iraq? > > You give her way too much credit. Politicians are becoming more critical of the war because they are following the lead of the people. Public opinion has shifted. Cindy Sheehan has nothing to do with it. If anything she’s hurt her cause, not helped it. She’s certainly not responsible for it. That’s what I’m suggesting. There have always been people who believed that immediate withdrawing was the most sensible course of action. Six months ago, very few of them were willing to say so (or even hint so) in newspaper columns or on TV or on the floor of Congress. This state of affairs was aided by a media that reported very little of the ongoing violence in Iraq. When Sheehan started her protest, things started changing. The media was obligated to notice the human toll of the Iraq War, and public figures grew less afraid to stand up and say that keeping the troops in Iraq accomplishes nothing. You say that politicians are following the lead of the people? Hardly. Public support has been dropping steadily for more than a year. It was the pundits and members of Congress who weren’t willing to stand up and say it, until Sheehan’s initial protest. As for the tedious claim that she’s hurting the anti-war cause, you can say it as often as you wish but it won’t come true. The anti-war cause is stronger now than it ever has been. If public support continues to fall, then eventually the government will have to bring the troops home. You can sit around reminding yourself that Sheehan is creating more support for the war by merely existing, but what will you accomplish by doing so? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/22 "2005-10-27T22:21:05Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > What Bush needs at this point is to stop. Look around. Re-assess some of his decisions. Get some humility and make some changes. Given that since he was sworn in, he has never once shown an iota of evidence that he is capable of doing this, I’m not holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/23 "2005-10-27T22:41:20Z")
> [@ITR champion](#): > > That’s what I’m suggesting. There have always been people who believed that immediate withdrawing was the most sensible course of action. Six months ago, very few of them were willing to say so (or even hint so) in newspaper columns or on TV or on the floor of Congress. This state of affairs was aided by a media that reported very little of the ongoing violence in Iraq. When Sheehan started her protest, things started changing. The media was obligated to notice the human toll of the Iraq War, and public figures grew less afraid to stand up and say that keeping the troops in Iraq accomplishes nothing. I don’t what news outlets you’ve been paying attention to, but the almost daily bombings in Iraq have been right there front and center since long before CS started her vigil. How many Congressmen do you see at the Sheehan rallies? Maybe one person from the House, none from the Senate. No one in the Senate is calling for immediate withdrawl, and only a few minor players in the House are on that bandwagon. No, Ms. Sheehan was a one-hit wonder back in August when the news was slow. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/24 "2005-10-27T23:51:10Z")
Gold Star Moms for Terror. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/25 "2005-10-28T00:48:03Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > Yep. But, I don’t care about his motives. He can fix the border because it’s the right thing to do. He can fix the border because it’s a political move to save his own skin. I don’t care. Just fix the damn border! 😉 You see, I just don’t see him being able to do this. There simply isn’t the dollars and cents in the budget to make a concerted effort on border security. There’s becoming quite the groundswell politically about getting the deficit under SOME sort of control and another large budget-busting initiative is going to have trouble getting through in an era where even democrats are saying that entitlements will have to be shaved to get things under control. Who knows? Maybe Norquist is finally getting his ‘starve the beast’ thing going. The problem is that no one who’s elected actually has the courage to stop feeding it. If it takes deficit spending and devaluing the dollar down the road then so be it. Political capital is an amorphous thing. If you say you have it and can sell that concept then you have it. Bush claimed to have it then didn’t bring it off. That’s effectively worse than not claiming it in the first place. Seriously, other than the Roberts nomination, has Bush had ANYTHING go right since his election? He’s had Social Security reform go down, Miers get humiliated by her own party, Katrina, Brown, Wilma, Iraq getting worse, etc. At this point he’s got to be thinking “What next? Locusts?” It’s not like I feel sorry for him. A lot of this is his own fault in one way or the other. But, man, that’s quite a litany of woe. ---
**Author:** ![albee703](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@albee703](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albee703)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/26 "2005-10-28T01:15:47Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Also, this hasn’t been a good year for Republicans in general. Bob Taft, Tom Delay, and Bill Frist have had ethics problems. Arnold has been struggling with low approval ratings and controversial ballot measures in California. Ted Stevens and Don Young defending bridges to nowhere. Rick Perry failing to accomplish school finance reform in Texas while wasting time on sexy cheerleaders. > > Hubris, it is wonderful political payback. Bill Clinton in the worst of the oral sex scandal did not have the Mainstream media sharpshooting every little move. The Washinton Post on the first editorial shortly after Clintoon pointed his finger at the American public and lied, didn’t have the testicles to put a name to the individual. Instead it was a four line editorial at the bottom of the editorial column. In essence it said, “He has lied to us before”. WHO? Hillary Clintoon’s tasteless Ghandi joke was published in the Post four days after it was published on the Internet. It was published on the following Saturday. The quintessential slow news day and it was buried in the middle of the Style Section’s standard page three trash column. Bush doesn’t have the Clintoons MSM covering his butt. Me, I would vote efor him again. At least he hasn’t pointed a fingewr at me and shamelessly lied to me. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/27 "2005-10-28T01:15:54Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Gold Star Moms for Terror. Aren’t they the ones who wear the “I Hate America” buttons? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/28 "2005-10-28T01:55:02Z")
> [@albee703](#): > > …At least he hasn’t pointed a fingewr at me and shamelessly lied to me. You’re right, that’s the least. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/29 "2005-10-28T02:05:56Z")
> [@albee703](#): > > Me, I would vote efor him again. At least he hasn’t pointed a fingewr at me and shamelessly lied to me. Anybody got a picture of Bush pointing a finger? ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/30 "2005-10-28T02:15:11Z")
> [@albee703](#): > > Bill Clinton in the worst of the oral sex scandal did not have the Mainstream media sharpshooting every little move. The Washinton Post on the first editorial shortly after Clintoon pointed his finger at the American public and lied, didn’t have the testicles to put a name to the individual. Instead it was a four line editorial at the bottom of the editorial column. In essence it said, “He has lied to us before”. WHO? > > Hillary Clintoon’s tasteless Ghandi joke was published in the Post four days after it was published on the Internet. It was published on the following Saturday. The quintessential slow news day and it was buried in the middle of the Style Section’s standard page three trash column. > > Bush doesn’t have the Clintoons MSM covering his butt. > > Me, I would vote efor him again. At least he hasn’t pointed a fingewr at me and shamelessly lied to me. Oh my God! Someone who still believes in the myth of the so-called liberal media. Do you still believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny as well? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/31 "2005-10-28T02:28:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Anybody got a picture of Bush pointing a finger? [Will this finger do?](http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2654327?htv=12) ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/32 "2005-10-28T16:50:25Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > You see, I just don’t see him being able to do this. There simply isn’t the dollars and cents in the budget to make a concerted effort on border security. Why would that stop them from doing it anyway? 😉 Seriously, if the policial will existed to do something about the border then they would. They’d find the money, cut from other programs, or simply run up more deficit. We already have a military. IIRC, the constitution specifically tasks the military with guarding the borders of the country. Why not use the resources we already have to bring sanity to the open borders? There’s a dozen ways to solve the problem. The issue is having the will do actually do something. Up until now, Bush hasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/33 "2005-10-28T17:09:49Z")
> [@ITR champion](#): > > That’s what I’m suggesting. Fair enough. You’re entitled to your opinion. I think that it’s absolutely nuts to give this much credit to one wacky protest group, let alone one individual. As I said before, I think she’s hurting her cause more than helping it. In any case, whatever affect she has is a tiny one. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/34 "2005-10-28T17:16:16Z")
> [@albee703](#): > > Bill Clinton in the worst of the oral sex scandal did not have the Mainstream media sharpshooting every little move. Huh? Sure he did. In fact, the MSM was so obsessed about his “every little move” in the Lewinsky affair that even the scandal-lovin’ American public got [royally sick of it](http://www.acjournal.org/holdings/vol2/Iss2/editorials/hogan/): > [@](#): > > Americans of all political stripes agreed–by margins of 70 to 80 percent–that the news media gave the “issue” too much coverage. When asked by the Center for Survey Research and Analysis to choose from a list of words to describe that coverage, respondents rarely chose words such as “informative” or even “entertaining.” More frequently they chose “disappointing” and “irresponsible.” The word chosen most often to describe the coverage was “excessive”; the second most frequently chosen word was “embarrassing.” ---
**Author:** ![Noctolator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Noctolator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noctolator)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157/35 "2005-10-28T17:42:31Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Anybody got a picture of Bush pointing a finger? [http://www.johnkerry.com/emails/04\_01\_04/bush\_point.jpg](http://www.johnkerry.com/emails/04_01_04/bush_point.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bushs-political-capital-spent/328157.md?page=1)