Bush's Two Minute Drill

In football parlance, the two minute drill is one of the most intense strategies to watch unfold. The game is on the line and you have two minutes to drive eighty-some yards, score a touchdown without leaving enough time for your opponent to respond. Its an intense time, as most of you know, I'm sure. But, at this time, it is only a metaphor.

For metaphor's sake, Bush has two minutes left on the clock. Of course he has plenty of calendar time (until Jan. 20, 2009), but the duck is roasting and his political capital is diminishing each day. Football teams that are losing have two options during the two-minute drill: 1) Hail Mary (go for the gold, score quickly and score frequently) and 2) Run out the Clock (basically, giving up. No last ditch effort). ***Listen football nerds, I realize that most teams with two minutes left won't go straight to a Hail Mary, but let's just remember its only a metaphor***

I am curious to see which strategy Bush will choose. Will he start offering legislation left and right in a last ditch effort to establish a legacy or will he simply sit back and try to do as little damage as possible. Bush's approval rating is monitored as low as 29% with an aggregate of 31.9% according to Pollster.com. Needless to say, Bush is not swimming in love. It is time for his two-minute drill. What strategy will he choose?

So far he erring on the side of Hail Mary. In the past two weeks, Bush has come out in favor of global warming legislation (a first), pseudo-critized Russia's pseudo-authoritarian regime (a first), went to the Hill to meet with Republican leaders (a second), actively lobbied for immigration reform (a first), stuck by a beleagured friend and Attorney General (yeah, he's pretty loyal) and who knows what is next. A gun control bill has been worked out by Senate Democrats and the NRA (yes, that NRA); it will be interesting to see where Bush comes down on this. It looks like Bush is turning a new leaf and legacy shopping. Good for him, I say. It is nice to see Bush persuing causes again.

This is where I overdo the metaphor: Bush had success early with his passing game. He was able to pass big buck legislation in a legislative form of shock and awe. He'd attack a touchy subject and muscle it through Congress (i.e. Education reform- NCLB, faith-based initiatives, PATRIOT Act, Iraq War Authorization). But he never established a consistent running game (smaller legislation that built up an over-arching message). What is Bush's message? Where is Reagan's "Morning in America", Kennedy's "New Frontier", LBJ's "Great Society", FDR's "New Deal", Truman's "Fair Deal", Teddy Roosevelt's "Square Deal" or even Clinton's "New Democrat" image. As you can see, an over-arching theme (a running game) is a good strategy for a successful presidency. Now, with time running out on the clock, Bush is left only with enough time for post routes and hail marys. A sporadic passing game is hardly a strategy (we're not dealing with Peyton Manning here). It will be interesting to see how effective Bush is in the coming months.

That is my Bush legacy rant. And to answer your question; yes, I took the metaphor too far.

-Wyatt Earp