[Mb-civic] 2005: A Year of Turbulence - David S. Broder - Washington Post Op-Ed

[William Swiggard]

2005: A Year of Turbulence

By David S. Broder
Sunday, January 1, 2006; B07

What a year that was -- 2005!

It's surely a year that George Bush is glad to see past, since his path 
politically was mostly downhill from Inauguration Day onward. The 
president was still standing at year's end, but no longer were Democrats 
intimidated by him and no longer were Republicans in automatic lockstep.

Iraq was the major source of his troubles, with the outcome of the 
struggle still uncertain as the third anniversary of the war approached. 
But at home, high energy prices and stagnant incomes kept millions from 
enjoying the healthy economy.

It was also not a year that enhanced the reputation of Vice President 
Cheney, whose top aide was indicted for perjury and whose adamant 
defense of often indefensible policies did little to improve his standing.

As a group, the former presidents fared better than the current occupant 
of the Oval Office, with Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton 
drawing praise for their humanitarian efforts and Jerry Ford continuing 
to serve as a model of civility.

Three of the new Bush Cabinet members helped bolster the performance of 
the administration: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brought a 
healing touch to U.S. relations with Europe. Education Secretary 
Margaret Spellings showed sensible flexibility in administering the No 
Child Left Behind law, but protected its essential features. And Health 
and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt negotiated Medicaid fixes 
while planning for the contingencies of a possible avian flu outbreak.

By contrast, the Department of Homeland Security flunked its big test in 
Hurricane Katrina, and the Justice Department besmirched its reputation 
by allowing politics to override professional judgment in the civil 
rights division's handling of

the Texas and Georgia voting cases. Messing with the franchise is an 
outrage demanding congressional investigation of that department.

On Capitol Hill, in a landscape scarred by scandal and partisanship, two 
veterans stood out. John McCain played host to the Gang of 14, and the 
Arizona Republican was instrumental in averting a crippling showdown 
over judicial filibusters. At the end of the year, he also prevailed -- 
over Bush and Cheney -- on the moral issue of barring abuse of terrorist 
suspects.

On the other side of the Capitol, in the other party, Rep. John Murtha 
of Pennsylvania offered a similar profile in courage. Murtha became 
famous late in 2005 by offering a serious, if ill-timed, proposal for 
the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. His larger, and largely 
unheralded, contribution was the appropriations language requiring 
periodic reports to Congress on benchmarks of progress in Iraq, the 
essential tool for getting the policy right.

Among the governors, my favorite group of public officials, 2005 was as 
good a

year as it was dismal for Congress. With revenue up and welfare rolls 
down, many

of the governors were able to try innovations in schools, transportation 
and other areas that actually improved life for their constituents.

One of the governors, California's Arnold Schwarzenegger, had a rocky 
time of it, launching a badly misjudged battle with the legislature and 
public employee unions and losing resoundingly in a public referendum on 
his ballot initiatives. But he is resilient politically and already has 
recast himself as a Republican reincarnation of Pat Brown, the great 
build-California Democratic governor, positioning himself for an 
election comeback in November.

It's hard to foresee an equally swift recovery for the press corps, for 
which 2005 was close to a disaster. Reporters and editors for two 
mainstream organizations -- the New York Times and The Post -- were cast 
in an unflattering light for their handling of sensitive "leak" stories, 
and many other news organizations reduced staffs and news coverage in 
response to the continuing migration of readers to the Internet -- or to 
indifference. Regaining trust -- and reviving the audience -- will not 
come easily.

At year's end, one journalist who earned that trust from a broad range 
of readers, Bill Raspberry, announced that he was giving up his column 
to focus on his teaching at Duke University and his good works in his 
native Mississippi. Bill has been a great friend and colleague at The 
Post -- and is exactly the kind of voice of reason you hate to lose at a 
moment like this, when so many others seem only to rant and rave.

Meantime, the structural challenges that shadow the nation's future 
continue to go mostly unattended. Nothing effective was done to address 
the linked problems of long-term budget deficits, Social Security and 
Medicare reform. The dysfunctional health care system got only a few 
marginal repairs.

Let's hope for better in 2006.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/30/AR2005123001289.html?nav=hcmodule
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