Redstate

By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Policy | The Soft Bigotry Of Low Expectations — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Jim Hoagland issues the worst insult imaginable at the Democrats' direction. He accuses them of making George W. Bush look responsible:

Democratic leaders in Congress are riding to the rescue of an unlikely beneficiary: the reputation of George W. Bush. They seem determined to exacerbate problems that he has created or long ignored.

They would deepen a budget deficit that, on Bush's watch, has lurched out of control. They undermine U.S. leadership in global trade negotiations. They champion politically rewarding but economically damaging agricultural subsidies during a world food crisis. On energy, the congressional Democrats seem intent on battling Bush to a draw on who can accomplish the least.

Okay. So Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and colleagues have seized their chance to out-pander the Republicans and are doing well in performing that uphill task. This is not exactly grounds for shock and awe, I hear you muttering.

But their actions allow Bush to pose as a fiscally responsible, veto-wielding leader -- a feat akin to enabling Typhoid Mary to pose as Florence Nightingale. This could help Bush inch up the ladder of the dank cellar of approval ratings expressed by his fellow Americans and much of the rest of the world.

The fallout is actually wider: The Democratic push on Capitol Hill for more budget-busting spending and greater protectionism bleeds into the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who promise to deconstruct NAFTA and to avoid almost all new taxes from here to eternity.

Perhaps they dissemble. But even this causes allies and rivals abroad to water down expectations that changing administrations will automatically make for a more reliable and cooperative American partner. A clear advantage that the Democratic Party had in world opinion is withering, according to foreign officials and professionals I have encountered recently.

Read it all. This is sure to incite the rage of the netroots, of course. But given that the Democrats have been irresponsible on issues like trade, perhaps Hoagland's lacerating editorial is precisely the tonic needed to get Congress to act responsibly.

Either that, or George W. Bush may have Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to thank if he ends up looking better in the history books.