By Dave McNeely | Published Sunday, September 14, 2008
The claim of GOP presidential candidate John McCain that he'll change the partisan tone in Washington reminds of another who said he would: President George W. Bush.
Bush, like McCain, promised to bring about the change once in the White House.
He continued the pledge in his first state of the union message to congress, on Feb. 27, 2001.
Back then Bush reminded the senators and representatives of that during his inaugural speech a month earlier, "I asked you to join me in setting a tone of civility and respect in Washington."
Bush said he wanted to reach across party lines and work together with congressional Democrats. It seemed to be working, he reported.
"I hope America is noticing the difference, because we're making progress," Bush said, five weeks into his presidency. "Together, we are changing the tone in the Nation's Capital.
"And this spirit of respect and cooperation is vital," Bush said, "because, in the end, we will be judged not only by what we say or how we say it, we will be judged by what we're able to accomplish."
Nice, lofty statement. And now, after the blood-letting of these last several years, it seems long ago and far away. As most observers know, whatever bipartisan harmony that was supposed to be given a boost by President Bush didn't much happen.
It was Washington at its non-finest.
Although there was a brief period of partisan harmony in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City later that year, the partisan rancor was too ingrained, the battle lines drawn too solidly, the enmities enduring, the clubs dull and the knives sharp.
President Bush's legislative victories often turned out like his electoral victories: close and bitterly divided. If getting along in congress across partisan lines was the goal, fierce legislative combat was the reality. Harmony, schmarmony.
And of course, Democratic nominee Barack Obama also says he'll change how Washington does business. Maybe he'll get the chance; maybe he won't.
McCain, who styles himself a maverick who leans into problems, was an equal-opportunity critic. While blasting the Democrats, he also piled blame on his own Republican Party for not just disappointing Americans, but in some cases doing illegal things.
"We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us," he said. "We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption."
Tonal change? Maybe.
Here's some words from the closing of President Bush's 2001 state of the union message:
"(I)f we work together, we can prove that public service is noble.
"We all came here for a reason. We all have things we want to accomplish and promises to keep. Juntos podemos - together we can.
"We can make Americans proud of their government..."
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McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, continues to praise McCain for his stand against budgetary earmarks, that allow legislators to designate special areas for appropriations.
McCain was one of the chief howlers about the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere," a $223 million earmark put in the budget by powerful Sen. Ted Stevens, for a bridge from Ketchikan to its island airport.
Palin, in speeches since McCain named her, says she was against it.
"I told the Congress 'thanks, but no thanks,' for that Bridge to Nowhere," she said in her speech accepting the veep nomination. "If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves."
It'll be interesting to see how long she can continue to use that line with a straight face. You see, she had not only initially supported the bridge in 2006, after winning the governorship, but earlier as mayor of tiny Wasilla had hired a lobbying firm to lobby for more earmarks. Thanks to Sen. Stevens, she got a lot of them.
By 2007, with the bridge estimate ballooning to $400 million, and with Alaska having to eat the remainder of the cost, Palin decided to shelve it. But Alaska got to keep the $223 million to spend on other projects.
John Kerry said in 2004 that "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it." That comment about supplemental war funding was manna from heaven for the Bush campaign, to bash Kerry as a flip-flopper.
The Obama ad this year says of Palin's track record on the Nowhere Bridge: "She was for it before she was against it."
But it's not clear yet whether that'll be enough that she decides - or the McCain campaign decides - that she should quit talking about it.
Contact McNeely at dmcneely@austin.rr.com or (512) 458-2963.
