Bush on the Upswing

The latest Democrat collapse on the budget was all over the news today, much to the delight of conservatives--and much to the dismay of the leftist nutroots. And you can say what you will about President Bush, but he has played the hyper partisan Congress like a Stradivarius, with a lot of help from Mitch McConnell and John Kyl. Captain Ed had some very relevant commentary on the latest turn of events--and of the President's role in it:

Who'd have thought it? Pelosi and Reid have transformed Bush into a spending hawk. In the first five years of his presidency, Bush could barely find his veto pen. Now, however, freed of the burden of defending a free-spending Republican Congress, Bush has discovered his inner Reagan and decided to fight for budgetary discipline -- and the Democrats realize that they can't beat him.

Even the Republicans left in Congress have awoken to the issue of fiscal discipline and have stopped whining about losing pork while they win the bigger victory. At first, the GOP seemed off-put by Bush's veto threats, and helped override one on the water-projects bill. Now, however, led by Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, they finally have heard the message of 2006 from discontented conservatives to start acting like small-government Republicans.

The new effort has succeeded in splitting the Democratic majority. More to the point, it has rescued George Bush from lame-duck status and given the Republicans some sorely needed credibility on fiscal responsibility. The budget collapse by the Democrats acknowledges that the spending discipline demanded by Bush and American taxpayers can be achieved, and it makes their earlier insistence on massive spending increases look like Democratic politics as usual. The surrender will infuriate their base, which will not be mollified by explanations of 51 vice 60 in the Senate.

The Democrats swore that they would make Congress ascendant over the White House and render Bush irrelevant. Instead, Bush has become Mr. Relevant, and it's almost entirely due to the political malpractice of Pelosi and Reid. Perhaps Bush should send them some holiday fruitcake as well.

It is no wonder that the President's numbers are going up...and that this Congress' numbers continue to be the lowest in recorded history.