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Financial crisis dims Bush's Iraq legacy

Probe further wounds lame duck

By Jon Ward (Contact) | Monday, October 6, 2008

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One month ago, President Bush may have expected to end his time in office highlighting the success of the surge in Iraq, a story of vindication.

But in the past two weeks, the U.S. economy has teetered at least twice.

Now, instead of an exit in which Iraq was a large part of the legacy conversation, Mr. Bush is confronted with a final 15 weeks full of questions about how much he is to blame for the economic crisis.

"If the economy doesn't show any signs of turning around, that will trump the good news in Iraq," said a senior Republican aide on Capitol Hill.

To top it off, a special prosecutor with free rein to investigate the administration was appointed last week.

Of all the bad days in the past two weeks, last Monday may have been the worst, drilling home the administration's near powerlessness to influence lawmakers in its own party, the seriousness of the economic crisis, and the scenario of former and current senior White House officials being subpoenaed for testimony.

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It was bad enough that House Republicans rebuked the president by rejecting his economic rescue plan, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 778 points.

"The vote Monday was aimed at Bush," said Paul Weyrich, a longtime conservative leader in Washington.

The White House spent last Monday in an all-hands-on-deck lobbying effort as the president and "everyone with a phone" called House Republican lawmakers who were undecided about the $700 billion rescue package.