I've gone back and forth on this myself.
I'm leaning towards the conclusion that
it's a political victory for Bush. He
got everything he asked for, against the
wishes of the Dem leadership in both
Houses. He got the defection of 10 or
so 'moderates,' including the Dem head
of the Finance Cttee. The only drawbacks
from Bush's standpoint are two: the
provisions take a long time to phase in,
and there is the sunset provision.
A bigger consideration which could have been
affected by the tax bill process is the switch
in power in the Senate. Even though Jeffords
supports the bill, he might not have moved if
the thing had unfolded differently.
mbs
This is one of the more confusing issues. Gary Bass of OMB Watch says:
I have great news. . . .
