Right-Wing Pundits Confess Bush ‘Has No Agenda’

With the departure of Karl Rove, the media is speculating as to how that will affect Bush’s domestic agenda. White House deputy chief of staff Joel Kaplan argued that Bush will pursue an “ambitious agenda” despite Rove’s departure:

The tank is full. The president’s priorities haven’t changed, nor has his ambitious agenda. When we come back in the Fall, the Congress is going to have a full plate in front of it. [Fox News, 8/14/07]

Similarly, spokeswoman Dana Perino claimed, “We have a lot of things that we can get done.” In reality, Bush’s domestic agenda “has largely shrunk to veto threats of bills passed by the Democratic-led Congress.”

Even the White House’s faithful conservative allies aren’t buying the spin. Last night on Fox, right-wing pundits Charles Krauthammer and Fred Barnes disputed the White House’s contention that it has an agenda:

KRAUTHAMMER: When Kaplan talks about an ambitious agenda, he is really taking one for the team. That is absurd, there is no agenda.

BARNES: Charles is right, Bush has no agenda.

Watch it:

In an interview with the Politico, Rove said, “If there’s a decision to shut down the government, it’s going to be coming from Capitol Hill, not from us.” The White House is attempting to set up the upcoming budget battles with Congress as a campaign issue heading into ’08. Even the right-wing now acknowledges that the what the administration is asking the public to do is rally behind a President who has nothing to offer.

Transcript:

KRAUTHAMMER: None. It’s over. When Kaplan talks about an ambitiousagenda, he is really taking one for the team.

That is absurd, there is no agenda. The only agenda on domestic issues is to stop the spending bills with the veto and create a crisis over that, and create an issue for the November election.

And even the Democrats are not going to be serious about having an agenda. Everything between now and next year is about forcing a vote on an issue, not as a way to get it enacted, but as a way to embarrass the other side.

The only agenda of this administration is Iraq and related terror issues, like the FISA law. And the title of the most important person in this administration long ago left Karl Rove and attached to David Petraeus. [...]

BARNES: Charles is right, Bush has no agenda. I am all for free trade–it’s gone. Democrats are rejecting all four of those free trade treaties. They didn’t extend–so you can’t amend what a treatise does.

Look, here is what the Bush administration wants to do, and it is what they would do if Karl Rove were there. They are going to hammer away at certain issues. One is they want Republicans to get back their reputation for restraining spending. You do that by vetoing all those bills.