I haven't seen this referenced on dKos before, so here's a story from John Dean in Findlaw (found on Truthout) on whether Bush actually has the political capital he claims.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/112704L.shtml
Here are the topics he covers
- A look at the historical record suggests the answer is no.
- Bush's Nonexistent Mandate
- Bush's Showing is Especially Weak Given the Advantage of Incumbency
- Bush's Thin Political Capital in the Congress
- Controlling Senate Filibusters in Confirmation Proceedings
- The Liabilities that Will Predictably Sap Bush's Capital
Dean ends with the following:
This presidency does not - all claims to the contrary - have a strong political balance sheet. Bush had best spend cautiously the little capital he possesses.
Reading this story helped me to feel much better that Bush can't just have his way with the entire country as he essentially boasted within a day or two of Nov. 2.
As Jon Stewart would say -- Bush's political capital? Maybe not so much.