Will Bush Take An Aggressive Approach Now?

How will President Bush respond to a new Dem majority in the House (and maybe the Senate)? Time Magazine has some thoughts:

President George W. Bush plans to respond to last night's Republican wipeout with a combination of conciliation and confrontation that is unlikely to pacify an empowered and emboldened opposition. Aides say that beginning with an appearance in the Rose Garden this afternoon, Bush will try to cast the blue wave as an opportunity rather than a defeat, and will vow to plunge ahead with transformative goals like reworking the Social Security system for fiscal longevity. "The same group of problems are there," White House Press Secretary Tony Snow tells TIME. "You just will have some different people in the leadership. We have an opportunity to have an activist last two years of this Presidency, which will be good for the country." Snow, who worked conservative talk radio for three hours yesterday afternoon, said Democrats now "have to decide whether they're going to be part of the solution, or are going to try to shut down the government for two years and point fingers at the President."

Advisers say the President plans to appeal to Democrats to work with him but will insist on reciprocation, and his aides not count on getting much. "The President is going to be very aggressive and forward-leaning, and he's not giving in on anything that matters," said one official familiar with the legislative strategy. "Maybe we'll push on a door that opens, but I doubt it." When Bush was Texas Governor and running for President back in 2000, supporters often pointed to his jocular and productive relations with Democrats in the legislature as signs that he could be what the campaign called "a uniter, not a divider." But people close to the President do not expect a rerun. He does plan to have incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi over to the White House this week, but a broad charm offensive by White House officials is unlikely. "They're not in the mood for it, and they don't think it would work," said one close adviser.

At this point the President has nothing to lose. Neither he nor his VP will be running again in 2008 so there's no reason to tiptoe through the last two years. I would like to see him push his agenda in ways he never did when the GOP was in the majority (don't ask me why) and let the Dems shoot him down if they will. Two years of obstructionism will not play well in '08.

The GOP in Congress forgot how to be Republicans and certainly forgot the lessons of 1994. They've paid a big price for that now, and maybe with some of the moderate and liberal members gone, the remainder can begin to work to reconnect with that huge part of America which still believes in conservative values and bring the base back to the GOP fold in '08.

UPDATE: Based on the President's news conference today, I'd say the answer to the question in the title is "no". The President sounded like he's going to go where the Dems lead him, at least initially. That's not good for anybody.