2008 elections loom in US
2007-12-19 12:22
Washington - After a year of acrimony, gridlock, and snarling showdowns over Iraq, Congress and President George W Bush will cede the spotlight in 2008 to a White House race awash in historic potential.
Stung by the Democratic capture of Congress, Bush began 2007 as a lame duck, but still rolled out a hotly disputed escalation strategy in Iraq. He ends the year claiming significant military progress.
Democrats failed in every bid to make good on their promise to bring troops home; their prospects seem as dim in 2008, leaving the unpopular war lying in wait for the next president.
The longest, most expensive US presidential race on record went into overdrive in 2007, and will suck up most of the political oxygen in 2008, before America's 44th president is chosen on November 4.
History beckons for several candidates. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton is vying to become America's first woman president and Barack Obama its first African-American leader.
Republicans will choose a nominee from a Mormon (Mitt Romney), a former New York mayor (Rudolph Giuliani), a former Baptist Minister (Mike Huckabee), a film star (Fred Thompson), and a Vietnam war hero (John McCain.)
"The agenda for the next year, come March 1 is going to be dictated by the presidential candidates of the two parties," said Professor Steven Smith, a congressional scholar at Washington University, St Louis.
'It is going to be up to the candidates'
"While congressional Democrats will be in a position to force some issues ... in terms of grabbing the headlines, it is going to be up to the candidates."
An ABC News/Washington Post poll exactly one year before the 2008 election found the public angry - with a staggering 74% sure the country was on the wrong track.
It revealed that fear of a recession and the unpopular war in Iraq were dampening America's trademark optimism, factors sure to play into the politics of the year ahead.
The first big congressional spat of 2008 is likely to come again over Iraq, with Democrats refusing to continue financing the war without a timetable for troop withdrawals.
Though they failed to halt the Iraq war in efforts during 2007, Democrats did subject the administration to an unprecedented oversight of the conflict.
High hopes for a rare bipartisan achievement - a comprehensive immigration reform, backed by Bush, foundered, on a popular uprising fanned by conservative Republicans.
Democrats tout what they see as signature achievements - enshrining recommendations of the September 11 commission into law, raising the minimum wage, passing ethics and lobbying reform and expanded student loans.
Low approval ratings
But few Americans appear to be buying their claims of success. Congress's approval ratings are running in the low 20% range in multiple polls.
"Democrats share your frustration. You're tired of infighting and inaction in Washington - so are we. It's time for compromise and co-operation," senior Democratic senator Dick Durbin said earlier this month.
Bush fares only marginally better, with 34% of Americans approving of his job performance, according to a Gallup poll on December 6.
In his last year in the White House, Bush is set to embark on a round-the-world odyssey with visits expected to the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia (Japan for the G8 summit and China for the Olympics), Peru for an Asia-Pacific summit, and Romania.
Lawmakers, including many Republicans up for reelection, will obsess about November's congressional polls.
Twenty-one Republican senators will face voters, compared to only 12 Democrats, so the smart money is on more Democratic gains.
Though Congress is viewed with contempt by Americans, an ABC poll found Democrats are still more trusted than Republicans to handle five of six top issues, including healthcare, Iraq, the economy, taxes and immigration.
Such figures are emboldening Democrats.
"Their feeling is if they muddle through they can win big victories in 2008, win the White House and then get to the agenda they really care about," said Smith.