2006: The year in review

By ALAN W. BOCK and STEVEN GREENHUT
Senior editorial writers
Bush's rebuke by the voters.
After six years (minus a few months with the Senate) of having both houses of Congress controlled by his own party, President Bush awoke Nov. 8 to a forced awareness that his policies, especially the war in Iraq, had suffered rejection at the hands of the U.S. electorate. This is a welcome affirmation of the U.S. political system's abilities to check leaders tempted to abuse power, but the ultimate outcome and impact on public policy is far from certain.
Even after the Iraq Study Group report in December, most Republicans are still in a state of denial about just how decisively the American people have turned against the unnecessary war in Iraq. Although the president has managed to acknowledge that American isn't winning (but not losing, either!) in Iraq, he shows little sign of dramatically rethinking his disastrous approach.
Meanwhile, the Democrats have no real Iraq policy beyond criticism and investigation. And if they use their congressional majorities to enact some of their favored policies – letting the Bush tax cuts expire, increasing domestic spending, further nationalizing health care, standing pat while Social Security goes broke, and trade protectionism, they could do the country as much harm as the Republicans managed while they had power.
Angst over the axis of evil as Iraq/Iran/NorthKorea dominate U.S. foreign policy. The aftermath of the Bush administration's disastrous decision to invade Iraq and declare Iran and North Korea part of a metaphorical "axis of evil" continued to dominate U.S. foreign policy.

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