Bush Loves Sinking Ships

Bush is tying himself to yet another doomed legislative effort, and flip-flopping to boot in order to accomplish that self-defeating goal. After pledging in 2005 not to push the Senate to pass a Federal Marriage Amendment, he's decided to push the Senate to pass a Federal Marriage Amendment. Guess why? 'Cuz he's in the low thirties, midterms are about turn-out, and if someone doesn't turn out to vote for Republicans in the midterms his Presidency is over, and his legacy is mud.

Still, is there any chance this will actually help? Will this make the evangelicals forget how little of their agenda has even been attempted, much less passed? It's no secret that they aren't happy with the "progress" being made. I mean, this is literally an 11th hour play. This isn't Presidential Leadership on one of their seminal issues - the Senate was taking up the Amendment anyway. Bush just looks like he's jumping on for the rhetorical ride, and I doubt it will change the mind of Dr. Dobson, who's been driven to making threats:

DOBSON: I wish the -- not only the Democrats -- but the Republicans would -- begin to take stock of what they're doing to the family. You know, it's been over a year now since the presidential election and Republicans have been in power in the House and the Senate and in the White House, and there is very, very little along the lines of what we're talking about to show for it. There's very little that has been accomplished that relates to social -- conservative social issues: the pro-family agenda; the pro-moral agenda; the sanctity of life. There's just nothing going on, and I know there are a lot of people out there that are pretty irritated at both parties, frankly, for that.

Yes, James, the Democratic Party stalwarts are in an uproar that we're not passing pro-life legislation. There's no way we're going to the polls unless they get cracking and controlling more parts of my life! Yeesh. The man is seeing the Republican Party - the one he's put so much time, energy and money to help develop - reneg on their end of the deal because their agenda is wildly unpopular. Poor Republicans... almost every agenda item they have outside of tax cuts would get them promptly un-elected if they really followed through.