On a cold, windy Thursday morning in our nation's capital, before a large crowd of dignitaries, guests, supporters and protesters, George W. Bush was sworn in for four more years as president of the United States. He followed the ceremony up with a bland, uninspired inaugural address to add to the string of recent bland, uninspired inaugural addresses.
The lofty theme of this term's inaugural was "freedom is good." The message will be tested Sunday when the Iraqi elections will show the administration's commitment to freedom and liberty abroad. If the elections are handled well, the administration will have made an important step, and there will be some measure of validation to a war that the American public is increasingly skeptical of.
However, Sunday will present a great challenge. The strength of the insurgency in the Sunni triangle may make it impossible for Iraq's substantial Sunni Arab minority to make their voices heard. If this scenario happens, the Bush administration cannot afford to turn a blind eye and would need to push the elected officials to govern legitimately.
An Iraqi government can be legitimate even without an overwhelming Sunni turnout in America, Presidents Washington and Lincoln were elected without entire states participating in the 1788 and 1864 elections. However, an Iraqi assembly cannot legitimately draft a Constitution unless it can quickly and effectively bring disaffected and intimidated citizens into the process.
On the domestic front, Bush is pushing a number of bold proposals with the support of larger Republican majorities in Congress. If the president overestimates his political capital and unsuccessfully tries to railroad a partisan agenda through Congress, it could have a backlash come the mid-term Congressional elections in 2006.
The president can work to pass substantial and bipartisan laws. For instance, he could work to have Congress pass tax reform that would close numerous loopholes designed for special interests and lower the overall rate. If he chooses to attempt to pass a flat tax, a national sales tax or Social Security savings accounts, he would be passing highly controversial and flagrantly partisan pieces of legislation.
The president's agenda neglects other important issues. There seems to be little planned to stop continual cuts to Pell Grants and student loan subsidies. This could make it so that college eventually becomes an overwhelming financial burden for many students. Also, there is no serious attempt to tame either the approximately $850 billion budget deficit predicted for the next decade or $600 billion trade deficit.
The next four years would be daunting for any president of any political stripe. However, these are issues that students should expect to see progress in and keep mind when casting their ballot in future elections.
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Jan. 27 2005.