Lonely in the middle

Dallas Morning News | William McKenzie:

“So what's it going to be? A year of Democrats bad-mouthing Republican leaders who move to the center? Or a year in which they engage the Republicans' ideas, support them where they can and adjust them where they can't? ... President Bush's budget answers Democratic Rep. John Murtha's charge that the military has too few soldiers and not enough armaments. It nods toward Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy with more money for the No Child Left Behind Act and huge college aid hikes. It responds to environmentalists like Al Gore with money for national parks and alternative energies. And it hears Hillary Rodham Clinton and others who want more Americans insured.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

For the first time in six years, there is reason to hope that Washington might move to the center. Bush and Cheney and the Republican Congress have governed from the extreme right for six years because there was no one to stop them. Now there is. If they want to get anything done, they have to compromise with the Democrats. And Republicans better want to get something done or 2008 will be even worse for the party than 2006 was. So, there is reason to hope that Bush will look to find common ground with the Democrats on issues like immigration, education, energy, etc.

The question is whether the Democratic Congress will compromise with Bush. They could reach too far, triggering filibusters and vetoes, then count on voters to blame Republicans for obstructionism, resulting in bigger majorities in Congress in 2008 and recapturing the White House. But voters are fickle. President Clinton managed to win the showdown with the Republican Congress over government funding. If Democrats in Congress overplay their hand now, President Bush might win a showdown this time around.

There's one hopeful sign that Democrats have no intention of overplaying their hand. There is no talk by Democrats of impeachment. Not even the revelations of the Scooter Libby trial are causing Democrats to rethink their decision on that. That's a sign that the Democrats are less interested in exacting revenge than in passing legislation to deal with the problems facing America. Meeting President Bush in the middle is exactly what they'll need to accomplish that.

On the other hand, the War in Iraq threatens to derail everything else in Washington for the next two years. President Bush shows no inclination to compromise on the war. His escalation or surge is emboldening Democrats to challenge the Commander in Chief in the prosecution of this war. Congress and the White House are unlikely to be able to work together on domestic issues while playing Constitutional brinkmanship on Iraq. If the President plans to move to the middle domestically, he will have to first move to the middle in his war policy.