USA Today unveils "The Bush 2006 Comeback Strategy"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Bush entering a tough time for two-termers

By David Jackson and Susan Page, USA TODAY

Updated 1/3/2006 12:01 AM

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-01-02-bush-sixth-year_x.htm

The comeback strategy



• Stay aggressive. Allies say the administration was slow last year to respond to attacks on Iraq, including allegations officials manipulated intelligence to justify the invasion. When attacked in 2006, "we'll aggressively set the record straight," says White House counselor Dan Bartlett. GOP strategist Terry Holt says, "If we learned anything this year, it's 'hit back, hit back hard and fast.'"

• Bring some troops home — or at least keep them safer. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced during a surprise pre-Christmas visit to Fallujah, Iraq, that the administration would begin withdrawing troops from Iraq this year. Bush emphasizes that how many and how fast will depend on how well Iraqi security forces progress. "The conditions on the ground will dictate our force level," he said Sunday after visiting injured veterans at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Even so, Bush has noted that U.S. forces gradually are turning over military bases to Iraqis, putting them in the forefront and providing some insulation for American troops. "You're beginning to see our troops step back from the fight," he said last month.

• Talk up the economy. In Chicago on Friday, Bush is slated to deliver the first in a series of speeches touting the economy. He credits tax cuts passed in his first term for strong economic growth and job creation last year — "the envy of the world," he said in his radio address on Saturday. Some of those cuts are due to expire soon, and he pledges to make them permanent. The White House also plans to put forward programs designed to bolster what it calls economic security: tax-free health savings accounts, pension changes and help for the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast. Bush will spotlight the start of the prescription-drug program for Medicare recipients, though the sign-up period got off to a rocky start amid complaints of confusion from some seniors.

• Scale back big promises. Bush's top domestic agenda item in 2005 was an ambitious plan to "transform" Social Security by adding individual investment accounts to the nation's retirement system. The plan drew powerful opposition from the AARP — the behemoth seniors' advocacy group — and from AFL-CIO unions. Even most congressional Republicans shied from embracing it. A commission Bush named to study the tax system submitted a 272-page report in November, proposing a simplification scheme that included scaling back popular deductions for home mortgage interest and state and local taxes. Treasury Secretary John Snow says the report is still under study. Republicans who work with the administration say the White House is likely to push limited changes this year, not a controversial revamp.

[hatrack]

1. LOVE your sigline photograph

I guess it's the same in Chinese AND Japanese!!

[rodeodance]

2. " Scale back big promises."---thought Jr was in campaign mode. I do not

trust him on this one-----as he is continually making new regulatory rules!

[napi21]

3. It's obvious this is his strategy, but I don't think it'll work.

He can talk up the economy all he wants, but until things change for the middle class, the only people who will believe him are the rich.

Bringing back some troops will only work IF there's more stability in Iraq, and that's not looking too likely.

Wether changing the tax laws will help Shrub depends on WHAT they are! If they dabble with the mtg. int. deduction, all he'll do is alienate BOTH the rich and the middle class!

[zbdent]

4. bring some troops home . . .

but quietly activate others, and bring them in from European locations . . .

[BamaLefty]

5. Comeback Strategy

Come back to get your ass kicked time after time? Dems will wipe the street with the Repukes in 06. It won't even be funny the asskicking they are going to take.

[gratuitous]

6. The story's long on tactics and short on actual program

But Bush doesn't really have any ideas except for cutting taxes and spending more on his cronies. Not a recipe for success, but don't tell him I said that. I'd hate to interrupt the GOP when they're making such a colossal political mistake.