WaPo: "Vote Underscores Bush's Loss of Influence, Unable To Persuade Many In His Own Party"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Vote Underscores Bush's Loss of Influence
President Unable To Persuade Many In His Own Party

By Dan Eggen and Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 30, 2008; Page A11

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092903360.html?hpid=topnews



President Bush was confident the House would approve the $700 billion plan when he walked to the microphones yesterday morning. (By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)

At 7:34 a.m. yesterday, President Bush strode onto the south driveway of the White House and urged Congress to approve his $700 billion Wall Street rescue package. "With the improvements made to this bill, I'm confident that members of both parties will support it," he predicted.

Less than seven hours later, the plan had gone down to a stinging defeat in the House, in large part the result of opposition from more than 100 members of Bush's Republican Party.

The vote marked the biggest legislative defeat of Bush's tenure and underscored the vanishing influence of a president who could once bend a pliant Congress to his will on wars, taxes, surveillance and a host of other high-profile initiatives.

The defeat also brought into focus some of the key characteristics of Bush's troubled second term, including his weakened hold on his party, his tendency to delegate major responsibilities to aides and his continued reliance on alarmist rhetoric in an effort to get his way. Bush left much of the sales job for the rescue plan to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., and his last-minute warnings that "our entire economy is in danger" appeared to have little impact on the debate.

"I was disappointed in the vote with the United States Congress on the economic rescue plan," Bush said after yesterday's vote, during a White House appearance with the president of Ukraine. "We put forth a plan that was big because we got a big problem."

[opihimoimoi]

1. Bush has lost whatever respect and credibility he had....he did this over the 8 years in office by

LYING his ass off....

Now...as in the boy/Wolf story,....no one listens....

[grasswire]

2. according to some other threads here...

...the Bush family trust fund suffered, too -- the Carlyle Group plans to overthrow the banking system were set back a tiny bit today.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. Drudgereport has a goofy, sorry looking pic of bush on the front page, that's telling.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. Goofy and sorry don't begin to tell the tale...

Stick a fork in him...that boy's done.

:patriot:

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. egads! You gave us a close up.

:scared:

[DCKit]

6. Replace "Many" with "Any" and the headline is accurate. n/t