It wasn't even a year ago that US President George W. Bush, buoyed by a surprisingly clear-cut election victory over John Kerry, told reporters with typical bravado: "I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it."
That capital is long gone. Bush's popularity has plummeted. His political agenda is on hold. His conservative Republican base is fractured. Bush no longer walks with that familiar Texas swagger.
The latest blow was the announcement on Friday of criminal charges against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, in connection with the leak of a CIA officer's identity. Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, remains under investigation.
The charges have added to turmoil in the White House.
They exploded one day after a revolt by Bush's conservative base forced withdrawal of Bush's nominee for the US Supreme Court, Harriet Miers, the president's lawyer. It marked a rare retreat by Bush.
Americans have become increasingly impatient with Bush's handling of the Iraq war as US casualties mount and with no end of the conflict in sight. The leak investigation -- tied to Bush's prewar claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction -- serves as a constant reminder that those weapons have not been found.
The top item on Bush's domestic agenda -- revamping the Social Security pension system -- has stalled.
Another priority, overhauling the tax code, is hardly ever discussed. And Bush has appeared powerless to do anything about rising gasoline and home heating oil prices, a major worry of Americans.
Even good news for Bush hasn't helped him much. The announcement on Tuesday that Iraqi voters ratified the country's Constitution was overshadowed that day by the 2,000th American death of the war.
Bush's nomination last Monday of Ben Bernanke to replace Alan Greenspan as head of the Federal Reserve was well-received. But it quickly faded from the headlines as the Miers nomination crumbled and criminal charges neared in the leak case.
It's not unusual for US presidents to struggle in their second terms.
Bill Clinton had the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Ronald Reagan dealt with an investigation into a rogue White House operation that used proceeds from arms sales in Iran to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The Watergate scandal forced Richard Nixon to become the only president to resign.
The political consequences of Bush's problems are unclear. There's little sign that the Republicans' problems have boosted the popularity of Democrats.
Elections will be held for all House seats next year, but voters rarely oust their local representatives. A third of Senate seats are also on the ballot, but Democrats will be defending more seats than Republicans, which will make it harder to gain ground.
Bush is barred by law from seeking re-election in 2008, and no clear-cut favorite has emerged from either party.
Democrats could be expected to run against Bush's record. But then again, if things don't improve for Bush by then, so might Republicans.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique