I AM THE FORCE

The pundits are giddy. They claim the Bush Presidency is in trouble. Indictment, Harriet Miers, Iraq complaints, low approval rating, bla bla bla bla bla. Journalists who think they are experts on national politics sit around on their TV shows and intone deep thoughts about the crisis. But what is the crisis really? We have a President who will be serving his two full terms, isn't that correct? His commitment to the pre-emptive use of military force in Iraq is unlikely to change. The Bush White House continues to run the country and make decisions that matter. Like him or hate him, he will be our President until 2009. Neither mini-scandals or petulant public impatience over Iraq will change that. George W. Bush won his re-election campaign against John Kerry in 2004. From that point on, he was no longer running for office. President Bush set out to pursue his principles and accomplish as much as possible in his second act. He basically said, take it or leave it, I'm going to spend my second term pursuing policy over affirmation. He has a Republican Congress and is likely to accomplish all but the most ambitious of his plans. Nobody wins everything, and no President wields a magic wand to make every wish happen. But Alito will be confirmed and many other Bush goals will be accomplished. From African AIDS funding to a Pattonesque War on Terror and everything in between -- George Bush is and will continue making an indelibly positive mark on world history. So please don't get carried away by the latest media frenzy. Take a deep breath, pundits, and think about what has really changed in the last few months. The Bush Presidency would have been in trouble if John Kerry had won Ohio. But after that didn't happen, everything else is simply background noise.