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Show TheSalt Lake Tribune OPINION AAS Yovember10, 2002 No Excuse Now for Bush Not to Deliver WASHINGTON — There-election fA of the president's brother in Florida was the test Democrats chose to manding civil Committee boss poured in millions. The Bush brothers greeted the personal chal- Bush’s abandonmentof vouchers in high ratings on theline to give national meaning order to get any bill at all. Whatabout the underlying prom: ise of the 2002 campaign — that the United States, with or without the backing of to local elections. Had his party in the White House suffered the usual midterm losses in Russia andFrancein the United Nations, would force SaddamHussein outofoffice before he can Congress and statehouses, Democrats would havesaid he had been repudiated. The opposite happened;his gutsy gamblepaid off, and Bush’s 2000 victory was resoundinglyvalidated. I was rooting for a shake-up of Congress, with controlof both houses switching and a check on executive power maintained. But the change to blackmail us not only with germ and poison-gas weapons but with nuclear bombs? As Election Day drewnear, Bush’s tone grew more dovish. The president began to waffle, allowing as to how“regime change” didn’t mean Saddam's removal, but merely a change in his weapons-development pract: If Bush permits the invasion winter to goby, GOPleadership in the Senate with today’s pened: Theclose Senateracesdid not average out one way, this time to What message will Democrats take from Bush's validation day? GOPpartisansfervently hope defeated Democrats will say “No more Mr. Nice Guy,” angrily return to class-war, peacenik principles and oppose Bushonthe liberationof Iraq and ontax cuts, including the “death tax.” However, the Clintons ONTRANITH&. WILLIAM SAFIRE primacy of foreign affairs and judicial appointment — was central. And thestrange thing hapbut broke mostly Republicans. air filter with control of the as Saddam employs his sophisticated form of rope-a-dope with inspectorsoften fooled before, it would occur to Democrats that summerlonginvasion posturing was a device to distract media attention from the economy. A charge of phony war talk would becomea rallyingissue. AndshouldIraq's regime remain unchanged, then hard-liners well as Wilsonian idealists will see themselves betrayed. They would hold the midtermreferendum on Bush to have been won on spurious grounds; a multilateral wimpout wouldhavebeen more honestly conducted by purse strings — will likely keep their party on dovish Democrats. the moderate middle-road messageof me-too. What will Republicans do with the across- Thus does the newpolitical dominancefocus responsibility. The Republican triad of presi dent, speaker and majorityleader has no excuse for failing to deliver. The opposition must con- the-board power position they have not had since Eisenhower's time? Wecan expect a surge of interest in “affordable health care,” specifi- ceive and articulate contrary views. The news cally an entitlementfor prescription drugs that Democrats have blocked as not generous enough. Partisan unionists who have jerked the media is charged more than ever to investigate and expose. 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