Bush Still a Factor, Much to the Distress of the Dems

When the Dems swept back into power in Congress in 2006 they thought they were now running things and the president would pretty much have to dance to their tune. Instead, they've been stymied in most of their efforts by both the veto pen and the GOP members in the Senate who've managed to keep the Dems under control. Karl Rove warns both the Dems and the GOP candidates that President Bush is still a factor and shouldn't be ignored or disrespected:

President Bush, down and all but counted out by friend and foe alike just three months ago, is rising like a bloodied but unbowed prizefighter, and Karl Rove predicts peril for Republicans and their presidential nominee if they shun the lame-duck president on the campaign trail.

The president had been pummeled ever since Democrats retook control of Congress in January, but he has pushed ahead with his second-term agenda on issues ranging from opposing federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, pushing for peace in the Middle East and establishing security in Iraq. Some in his own party broke with him on the war, but as the "surge" takes hold and the president regains his footing — and with rising poll numbers, to boot — Mr. Bush looms large for Republican contenders next November.

"Nobody can risk looking disrespectful to the president without paying a price, and they need to understand that," said Mr. Rove, Mr. Bush's former top political adviser.

Republican strategist Scott Reed says that what the "White House critics fondly referred to as Bush's stubbornness" is beginning to pay dividends on a host of issues that voters care about, from the war in Iraq to a scientific breakthrough that shows embryos don't need to be destroyed for stem-cell research.

The Dems have badly squandered their opportunity to lead by spending an inordinate amount of time and energy conducting investigations and hearings to uncover evils in the Bush White House instead of advancing an agenda for the future. The voters aren't stupid and they see what's going on. They may not have a high rating of the president, but their even lower ratings for Congress spell trouble for the Dems in '08 if they can't turn it around.

Conventional wisdom says the Dems are in for another big election, but with leaders like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, electoral success is far from assured.