WASHINGTON -- Still basking in high marks for prosecuting the war on terrorism, U.S. President George W. Bush is being dogged by economic difficulties.
Bush came to office advocating a new day in government-business cooperation, one that would raise the level of the American economy to new heights. He advocated an expansion of free-trade deals. He proposed a big tax cut that he said the nation could afford and still pay down the debt. He advocated creating personal investment accounts for the Social Security system, suggesting that the stock markets could provide better returns on investments than the government. He proposed more freedom for oil companies to drill, saying it would reduce reliance on foreign oil.
He quickly passed his tax cut. But since that time, the administration has had little success in advancing any of the rest of its economic agenda. Questions are now mounting about the strength of the economic team. Since the shift of control of the Senate to the Democrats and the declaration of the war on terrorism, action on the Bush proposals have been slowed or watered down.