WASHINGTON -- With Congress back in session, economics is likely to come to the fore in Washington. President George W. Bush may be winning the war on terrorism, but congressional Democrats think they can recoup by blaming him for losing the surplus. This party of big spenders is ill-equipped to take political advantage, however.
Senate majority leader Tom Daschle (South Dakota) recently went on the attack against the Bush tax program. But Daschle's charge that administration policies "probably made the recession worse" is partisan cant.
The Bush tax program hadn't even gone into effect when the economy began slowing. Moreover, virtually no economist believes in fighting recessions with tax hikes. Twelve Democratic senators and 28 Democratic members of Congress backed the Bush plan.