Lexington

摘要

Never underestimate George Bush's ambition. Back when he was a mere shrub in Texas he succeeded in turning a small victory in his first race for governor into a resounding triumph in his second. Now he is well on the way to doing exactly the same thing on a national scale. Work is well advanced on both next year's budget and his state-of-the-union address. The president's staff are casting around for a big idea to galvanise his domestic agenda for the next couple of years-perhaps even adding individual-investment accounts to Social Security. The Republican Party now thinks it is close to replacing the Democrats as America's majority party. In 2004, the talk is not just of a second term for Mr Bush but of expanding the party's majority in the Senate (the Democrats are defending more vulnerable seats). Some obvious things could still get in the way: a disastrous war in Iraq, or a severe downturn in the economy. But a more subtle threat could come from the party's business wing. How could business be a problem? The president has hardly made a secret of his belief that the business of America is business. He stuffed his cabinet with the sort of people whose first reaction to news of some tycoon's obscene retirement package is to wonder why they hadn't fixed so luscious a deal for themselves. Mr Bush spent his first two years in office delivering tax cuts and "regulatory roll-back" to the industry lobbyists who hang their hats in Washington's K Street.