From CNN: Is Bush already a lame duck?.
President George W. Bush is set to go before Congress Tuesday night and deliver his sixth State of the Union address against a backdrop of mounting U.S. casualties in Iraq and approval ratings in the low 30s.Posted by Forkum at January 23, 2007 04:30 PMThe war is not likely to dominate the prime-time address, but the list of domestic issues he plans to discuss promises to be lengthy.
With an empowered Democratic majority and a wary Republican Party looking toward the 2008 elections, many are wondering whether the president has the support or the political capital left to push his agenda through Congress or whether he has become a lame duck.
"A lame duck president is someone who in our recent history is in his second term. ... He doesn't have the clout to influence the Congress, to assert himself that effectively, even in the conduct of foreign policy, because people know he is only going to be there another two years," said presidential historian and author Robert Dallek.
A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll released Monday shows 63 percent of Americans disapprove of the way President Bush is handling his job, and 34 percent approve -- his lowest job rating on the eve of a State of the Union address.
The poll was conducted Friday through Sunday and was based on telephone interviews with 1,008 adult Americans. It has a sampling error of plus-or-minus 3 points.
Supporters of Bush disagree with the notion that he will be sidelined for his remaining two years in office. "The president is saying he is going to sprint to the finish line," said former Bush administration adviser Mary Matalin. "The country cannot tolerate and will not tolerate two years of getting nothing done."
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