Editorial: ‘Victories’ in House miss larger picture

Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2001 | 8:45 a.m.

The Washington press corps blithely trumpeted -- and overstated -- President Bush's two legislative accomplishments last week when the House passed his energy package and a compromise plan on a patients' bill of rights. But both measures only passed the GOP-controlled House -- neither will emerge unscathed after the Democratic-run Senate has its say. The only genuine win that the president has so far is his tax cut package, but even that is illusory.

White House advisers actually want to shift attention away from some of Bush's legislative achievements, which even they know can backfire. A New York Times story Sunday noted this new emphasis, reporting that Bush aides say the president will now move beyond the tax cuts and energy bill that have come to define his presidency. Instead Bush will focus on his "compassionate conservative" agenda, highlighting education, immigration and values that his advisers hope will boost his standing with moderates, independents and women.

A disenchanted part of the public understands that the energy bill won't significantly improve the energy efficiency of vehicles, and is more a sop to big energy producers in the form of tax breaks. And the tax cut in succeeding years will benefit primarily well-off Americans, while increasing the budget deficit, which also worries many middle-income, moderate voters. Obviously the White House spin doctors recognize that Bush's success in the House on the tax cut and on the energy bill are Pyrrhic victories, at least with the middle-of-the-road voting blocs he covets. It will be interesting to see how long it takes all the Washington pundits to acknowledge how empty Bush's "wins" were last week.