THE PRESIDENCY Can Bush push through domestic agenda?

Many of his ideas are anathema to Democrats.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
WASHINGTON -- President Bush seems determined to begin his second term with a burst of political energy.
Perhaps mindful that re-elected presidents can lose power quickly, Bush has already outlined a domestic agenda that in some ways is more ambitious than the one he laid out four years ago.
From reform of the tax code and Social Security to updates for the No Child Left Behind education law, the items the president has mentioned touch on some of the most fundamental aspects of American government. If all are enacted, history might judge the Bush presidency a conservative counterpart to Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society.
But that is a very large "if." As LBJ found, foreign-policy struggles can overwhelm the best-laid domestic plans. And many of the details of Bush's agenda are anathema to Democrats. In the wake of victory, Bush has vowed to unite the nation, but his domestic plans could prove divisive.
Bush's list
On Wednesday, only hours after his victory was finally assured, Bush said he had a lengthy "to-do" list for his second term. "We'll reform our outdated tax code. We'll strengthen ... Social Security for the next generation. We'll make public schools all they can be. And we will uphold our deepest values of family and faith," said Bush.
At a press conference on Thursday Bush reiterated this list, and said again that he intends to unite, not divide, the nation. "The campaign over, Americans are expecting a bipartisan effort and results. I will reach out to everyone who shares our goals," Bush said.
Bush's domestic agenda is as follows:
* With an ailing chief justice at the U.S. Supreme Court and a larger Republican majority in the Senate, the big question in the judiciary is whether Bush in his second term will aggressively seek to place conservatives on the federal bench -- including at the nation's highest court. The issue takes on a new sense of urgency amid reports earlier this week that Chief Justice William Rehnquist's recently disclosed battle with cancer may be more serious than initially thought.
* Bush talks of tax reform, especially the popular idea of tax simplification. Getting any such bill through Congress, though, will be hard, despite enlarged GOP majorities in both houses. Bush said Thursday that he wanted tax simplification to be revenue neutral. There is speculation that Bush will seek a flat income tax, with all brackets paying the same rate, or a national sales tax. Both could worsen income inequality.
* During his campaign, Bush often touched what is commonly termed the "third rail" of politics -- changing the Social Security system. And he survived any political shock. Bush avoids using the term favored by many economists -- privatization. But the president did speak of instituting private accounts for younger participants in the pension and disability system, leaving older workers and retirees untouched. So far, Bush has outlined no details.
* The main challenge in a second term will be correcting perceived problems with the No Child Left Behind law, Bush's signature education achievement in his first term. The law uses federal education dollars to leverage changes in local schools, including annual testing in early grades. But its complex formulas have led to unintended results. Look for new proposals to promote annual testing and proof of "adequate yearly progress" for subgroups of students in the nation's high schools. A leading question is whether the president will claim a mandate to get back to the derailed idea of school vouchers.
* Look for a return to the "compassionate conservativism," including more efforts to expand federal funding for faith-based social initiatives, especially in prison reform and drug treatment. Congressional leaders expect a new drive to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and a push for a comprehensive ban on human cloning. "Human life is a creation of God, not a commodity to be exploited by man," says Bush.