Since his foreign policy is in the toilet and the trustworthiness of his administration is probably too low to be taken seriously by any other government I think any changes would have to be made domestically.
- Throw a bone to the members of your own party. You know, the ones who voted for you back in the day. Make at least token cuts to welfare, etc spending. Invest these savings in our future along with other funds in a....
- Crash science and Education program. Show you are serious about energy independence. Put meaningful monies into alternative energies (nuclear, wind, etc). Consider massive tax credits for those who put solar panels into buildings and such. Invest in life and physical sciences to relieve human suffering. At a minimum, triple the NIH, NSF funding. Give the space program scientifically realistic goals of exploration of places other than near earth orbit. These programs would be hard for future administrations to cut and would help maintain US knowledge supremacy as well as repair the damage caused by low funding in the past.
It's not much, but what can you do when you are already the
worst administration in history before your term is up? Perhaps history can remember (in an ironic fashion, of course) that Bush-43 ended up precipitating a golden age of American know-how and technology supremacy.
Bonus: If I was a cabinet secretary I'd probably be the Secretary of Health & Human Services, or perhaps the Secretary of the Interior, because only 1 Secretary since WWII has never lived west of the Mississippi. I fit that bill, and would gladly wear a lot of flannel and hang out at gun clubs for a cushy job with a pension.
I'd recommend lots of BBQs at the ranch, and get Cheney to gorge himself to ensure he doesn't change his mind and decide to run in 2008.
The big problem Bush has right now is that he can't get anything through the Senate. Obviously there aren't enough Republican votes to pass anything, but if he reaches across the aisle to try to rely on purely Democratic party votes, the Republicans still have enough seats to filibuster. This is what has killed measures like the DREAM act and other immigration reform legislation. If I was a Bush adviser, interested in a legacy, I think that the one area that might be open is environmental legislation. I think there's a chance to push through new CAFE standards and a carbon emissions cap and trade scheme. It's the sort of thing that Democrats would find tough to oppose and which a lot of Republican Senators would find hard to filibuster. The way I look at it is that Democrats are almost certain to have the House, Senate, and Presidency come January 2009, and at that point tougher environmental standards will happen. My uncle works for an Industry Leading Power Company (TM), and he says that they are pretty much resigned to the fact that cap and trade will come, and they know it's just a matter of time. If the Bush administration pushes them through now, it can set the terms to be as pro-business as possible, mitigating some of the pain. The legislation couldn't be complete crap, because if it is Democrats won't feel obligated to pass it, but as long as the standards are in the range of 70% to 80% as tough as what an "ideal" Democrat-sponsored bill would be, it could probably pass.
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If I was a cabinet secretary I'd probably be most qualified for State, given my current pursuit of a PhD in International Relations. I'm not sure that I'm diplomatic enough for it, though...I'd probably make a better National Security Adviser.
Unfortunately, Bush is so sapped of political influence on the Hill, his chances of sponsoring any effective legislation ranges from slim to none. His only options right now is to keep that veto pen handy when he runs into a piece of legislation that clearly won't survive a veto and smile wanly as he signs the other bills which would trump a veto. Well, there is one more thing he could do to assert his authority as the Alpha Male among us -- toss a few nukes at the Iranians. He doesn't need Congressional approval for it -- Hillary et al already gave him cover to fight the War on Terror with whatever means he deems necessary.
At one point, I thought with the dismantling of the Soviet bloc and what we lived through with nuclear armageddon hanging over us for 40+ years, that I'd never be thinking the unthinkable. But, I do think that George Bush is the one man in the world with the power and inclination to use nuclear arms preemptively.
Illegitimi non carborundum.
