Bush Road Map Lined With Potholes for '08ers

Jan. 28, 2008 — -- President Bush's agenda for his final year in office threatens to complicate the campaign efforts of the Republicans seeking to succeed him, with the president's political legacy leaving the GOP frustrated amid conflicting signals from voters.

None of the Republican candidates are eager to run on the Bush legacy. His 32 percent approval rating ensures that the candidates hardly want to associate themselves with the current president.

Yet the president and most of his major policies remain widely popular within the Republican Party. Many of the key policies the president plans to enumerate Monday night in his final State of the Union address -- making tax cuts permanent, a crackdown on government spending, a continued commitment to the war in Iraq -- are items that draw hearty endorsements from the major Republican contenders.

That creates a particular challenge for Republican candidates, who realize that voters inside out and outside of their party want a change of direction -- though generally not a dismantling of the Bush-era policies.

"Running to give us a third term for President Bush is not exactly what the doctor ordered," said Whit Ayres, a Republican consultant and pollster who is not affiliated with any of the presidential campaigns. "You have to run on a parallel track that carves out your own agenda without being overly critical of the incumbent."

The president is beleaguered politically, weakened by his lame-duck status and the Democrats' control of Congress. The downturn in the economy saps the president of one of his best political talking points, and even hopeful signs out of Iraq seem to hold little chance of resuscitating his political reputation.

Yet, as the bipartisan deal on an economic stimulus package last week makes clear, Bush still has the potential to shape policy in Washington. And the bully pulpit of the presidency allows him to continue to dictate the agenda, even in an election year where his replacement will be chosen.

"From expanding opportunity to protecting our country, we have made good progress," the president plans to say Monday night, according to excerpts released by the White House. "Yet we have unfinished business before us, and the American people expect us to get it done."