Republicans mocking the spendthrift policies of President Bush« Thread Started on Apr 9, 2006, 8:18pm » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is the end of the Bush era By Fraser Nelson09 April 2006 read source: http://www.thebusinessonline.com/Storie ... B&page=1IN the corridors of the House of Representatives offices, flip charts have been laid out to stalk visitors. “National Debt: $8,395,728,405,100. Your share: $28,000” the first says. A few doors down, this rises to $28,200. On the next floor it has hit $28,500. This is the voice of dissident Republicans mocking the spendthrift policies of President George Bush. The mood would be mutinous if they still considered the president to be their leader. But as they prepare for mid-term elections, it is each man for himself.Bush may not even be halfway through his second term, but power is draining from the White House – as it is from 10 Downing Street. But while Britain looks at Gordon Brown, it is unclear where US political power is going.The Democrats are optimistic. The Iraq war is catching up with the Republicans and acting as a negative. For the first time since the September 11 attacks, they are seen as the weaker of the two on defence.A remarkable 30% of Americans want immediate withdrawal from Iraq, twice the level of two years ago. All 435 seats in the House are up for election in November and, while only 35 are in serious contention, it is enough to alter the power balance.The Democrats will use the Iraq war as powerfully as they can. They are planning anti-Bush rallies using serving soldiers outside military barracks: seeking to turn the mid-term elections into a referendum on the war.The Hillary Clinton machine grows ever stronger. The New York senator has assembled a team which looks superior to that of the White House, drawing on reconvened heavyweights from the Bill Clinton era.Names such as Ann Lewis, a renowned strategist, Mark Penn, a pollster, and Terry McAuliffe, a fundraiser and likely UK ambassador under Mrs Clinton, are becoming central figures among the Friends of Hillary preparing for power.Every speech she makes has one eye on wavering Republican voters and there are few in Washington who would not describe her as the overwhelming favourite to be the Democrat candidate for president. There is less agreement on who she would face.