Go McCain!
Straight Out of the Chute, President Pressing Agenda
By JANET HOOK, ALISSA J. RUBIN, Times Staff Writers
Excerpts from above article
January 22,2001
"There are elements of Bush's platform reminiscent of the Reagan
administration--big tax cuts and a rapid defense buildup. Reagan
was the last Republican to take over the White House from a
Democrat. But the political circumstances of Bush's ascension to
the Oval Office are dramatically different.
Reagan took power in a commanding political position. He won
in a landslide. Republicans rode his coattails to gain control of the
Senate. Democrats were cowed by his popularity, which propelled
his economic program quickly through Congress.
Bush won without even winning the popular vote. Republicans
almost lost control of the Senate in his wake. Many Democrats still
question his legitimacy and are angling to win control of the House
and Senate in 2002. And far from being able to jam his priorities
through Congress, Bush may see his first 100 days scrambled by
erstwhile presidential rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who
intends to introduce today his latest version of campaign finance
reform legislation. In a sign of the sensitivity of the situation, Bush
has summoned McCain for a meeting Wednesday.
Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," McCain insisted that a
vote on his bill must take place by the end of March. "I believe we
can work together on this," he said, "but we know that delay is
death."
On the regulatory front, Bush has said that he will review and
possibly reverse many of the last-minute regulations and executive
orders Clinton issued in the waning days of his administration, such
as rules to block development of millions of acres of forest land.
Laying the groundwork for such a review, his first act as president
Saturday was to issue an order freezing some rules for Medicare,
the environment and other programs that had not taken effect."
latimes.com |
