Saturday, October 18, 2003
Senate snubs Bush
The Guardian reports that President Bush's authority is being questioned after eight Republican Senators ignored his personal pleas and a small temper tantrum and voted to defy him by turning half his $20bn Iraq reconstruction budget into a loan. This is apparently a further sign of a flailing administration in which key Cabinet members are setting their own agenda in conflict with each other, whilst the President looks on helplessly. The leaking of the name of an undercover CIA officer has added fuel to the fire. Clearly, it is too early to say how all this will affect next year's Presidential election but it does contribute to the background tone against which that election will be fought. I feel better already.
