Headline from SCOTLAND: "Bush braces for a bleak future" [View All]

[Bluebear]

THESE are rare, happy days for Democrats in Congress. Barring disaster or some unforeseen last-minute collapse, the party should regain control of the House of Representatives after Tuesday's mid-term elections. A party that has been wandering in the wilderness ever since George W Bush became president will suddenly find an oasis of power as sweet as it is refreshing.

Republican party chairman Ken Mehlman admitted as much at a Washington fund-raiser this week. Though he was duty bound to express confidence that Republicans would do better than the polls predict, he acknowledged the mood of the electorate is "throw the bums out" and admitted that "we have more bums" than the Democrats. For the past six years Republicans have owned the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives, giving the party untrammelled power in Washington....

If Democrats do win control of Congress then the rules of engagement in Washington will be ripped up and rewritten. Just two years ago President Bush vowed to spend the "political capital" he had earned by winning a second term in office. Bush reigned supreme and possessed a mandate for sweeping change. But the president's account is now overdrawn and his second term has been frittered away. Despite record levels of federal spending, Bush has few achievements to point to from his second term.

Now he faces the unwelcome prospect of his policies being scrutinised by a Democratic Congress determined to impose Congressional oversight upon the administration. The days of the blank cheque, the free lunch and the rubber stamp are coming to an end.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1637842006