The Year in Review: Politics 2005

The year started out well for Bush, then went bust (to say the least). Winners were few this year, mostly because Democrats just failed to catch onto the discontent that has been brewing.

Social Security: Not a secure plan
Bush started out the year by attempting to change one of the biggest programs in the US. The claim: Social Security is about to collapse on itself and thus, changing it so then part of the investments put into it would instead go to private (albiet, low risk) investments instead.
I have no doubt that Bush made the case that Social Security was failing, mostly because that claim was true. However, by introducing a risk-involved change into a program designed to be risk-free, it just didn't go well with people. This was one of the first programs Bush proposed that congressional Republicans just couldn't go with. When a Republican proposal can't be a sure thing in a Rupublican-controlled House, you know something is wrong with the proposal. After a few months of attempted bargaining, the proposal was quietly put to rest, marking Bush's first major failure as President.

Sheehan: Protests on Iraq increase
Cindy Sheehan somehow started something no Democrat could: actually rally people together against the war in Iraq. Sheehan, being a mother of a fallen soldier, was able to garner enough credibility and air-time that rallied more people then ever to the debate.
This would be enhanced by increased deaths in Iraq, including the 2000 soldiers dead mark being exceeded.
A few Democrats, like Hillary Clinton, would come out to say they dislike the policy, but not to retreat from Iraq. Some call for a policy change, which some claim the Bush Administration silently put into effect.
Then there was Mertha. Congressmen Mertha came out against the war, then some stupid Republican called him a traitor (in similar words, I forget who said it, luckily for them). This was quickly retracted (as in after a short break that day), and caused Republican retaliation to be greatly reduced, in quanity and veracity.

Katrina: How confidence was lost
One of Bush Sr's mistakes was a lack of reaction to one hurricane hit. Bush made note not to make the same mistake in 2004, but should have remembered it after his celebration.
Katrina hit New Orleans hard, and the lack of federal aid for several days put one of Bush's claims to serious doubt: that he would protect the nation and react according to any suprises.
Bush made the mistake of not doing anything himself for the few days that Katrina was almost exclusivly in the news. He even went to rallies, and even sung at one.
Then there was Browny. It was not only quickly revealed that Brown was underqualified for leading FEMA, but was later revealed that he wasn't even working before, during or after Katrina hit. He will forever be known as the ultimate screw-off in a time which anyone (well, other then him) would do the opposite.
This would also put to doubt FEMA's placement into the Department of Homeland Security, since one problem was that it created additional hoops for FEMA aid.
Other failures was in organization, including the long-tracked escapades of trucks carrying ice for the Gulf Coast, but was sent all over the country, ultimatly ending up in storage.

NSA: Too secure?
Recently, the New York Times revealed that the NSA was spying on domestic phone calls without getting a warrent. Bush has attempted to claim that congress, even if inadvertantly, authorized the programs, but news organizations and even Republican members of congress are not buying it. Next year, congress will investigate into the matter.
This controversy is new, and will be going into 2006 easily until the spring.

Plamegate: Top Administration officals targeted
The CIA leak was a small issue for Bush in 2004, but would erupt in 2005 when the investigation was comming to a close (and still is). When implications pointed to Carl Rove, the press erupted with bad news. Eventually, "Scooter" Libby would be indicted for purgery. However, the investigation is still going on, and Rove is still said to be a target in the investigation.

Supreme Court: Bush's best and worst
When Sandra Day O'Conner announcer her intention to retire from the Supreme Court, Bush announced his stealth nomination of John Roberts. While Democrats attempted to set the bar in scruteny for any future nominations, most would vote for Roberts when he would replace Renquist when he died this year, also marking the greatest political death this year.
Then Bush nominated Miers, which didn't go well with Republicans. Some Democrats came out in support for the non-judge nominee, but hardcore Republicans called for a obvious conservative to the bench. The nomination was the worst since Bork, and Meirs would retract the nomination (ie: falling on a sword for Bush). Later, Bush would nominate Alito, but confirmation hearings would wait for 2006.

This past year was certainly one which Bush would forget, and hope history does as well. From his failure in Social Security, to Katrina, this year was one which Bush would face the most critism, and one which the press would actually gain a backbone. After Katrina, the press would actually look for differences in Administration comments and reality. Democrats could have rode in for the save, but somehow couldn't get a policy that people could relate to. However, Republicans are now stepping away from almost universal support of Bush.
The only thing that can be predicted of next year is that a new member of the Supreme Court will be confirmed. If that will be Alito or someone else, who can tell? With 2006 being an election year, it will definately be more eventful then this year, if that's possible.