Political Capital

On November 4th, in his first press conference after the election, President Bush looked fit and rested. He joked with the press corps and made an in your face statement:

Let me put it to you this way: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style.

Yesterday President Bush explained how he planned to spend some of that capital. According to CNN, President Bush plans on re-nominating several of the District Court and Court of Appeals nominees that were blocked by Democrats in the previous Senate session.

Of course the usual liberal suspects have already begun to complain about Bush being a divider not a uniter. And how he is just continuing the same agenda even though he failed to get a mandate in the election. Regardless of your definition of mandate, I think it is refreshing.

It's great to see the President sticking to his guns. [Note: the dis-oriented author is an NRA member so he may use phrases like sticking to his guns]

It is almost like having a real conservative in the White House!

I have my disagreements with the President on policies but I still supported George W. Bush in the elections for three reasons:

1.	George W. Bush was the most conservative candidate in the race.
	While President Bush may not be my image of the ideal conservative (the phrase compassionate conservative makes me sick) he was by far the most conservative candidate in the race. As a Republican he belongs to the party that has the most conservative members (in both number and degree) in the US House and Senate. While he supports some ideas that I oppose, like No Child Left Behind, loosening immigration rules  and the 9/11 reforms, he also supports many that are near and dear to my heart. He  is pro-life, he believes traditional marriage, instituted tax cuts, and he is willing to tackle Social Security reform. Over all we agree more often than we disagree.
2.	The W does not stand for Waffle.
	President Bush has been decisive and consistent in his presidency. Those things that he supported in the campaign, he did as president. He pushed a tax cut through and he crossed the aisle to work with Ted Kennedy on No Child Left Behind. One I loved and the other I hated. But during the campaign you knew he would do both — and he did
3.	It's the Judiciary stupid!
	Like it or not, the Judiciary at all levels has been on a power grab ever since Marbury v. Madison in 1800. Judges in this country have taken upon themselves the responsibility of acting when Congress does not or worse countermanding Congress when they disagree. In this Presidential term there are numerous openings to fill on the federal bench. From both sides of the political spectrum, Norman Lear's People for the American Way and James Dobson's Family Research Council predict that President Bush will have the opportunity to make critical appointments to the Supreme Court.

These District and Appeals Court fights will be a precursor to the Main Event — the eventual Bush Supreme Court Nominees. This time around Senate Leader Bill Frist has said that he would change the filibuster rules if necessary to get the Bush nominees through the Senate.

It is on this battle that the war will be won.