Elections reflect Bush's decline

By MARIANNE MEANS
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST

WASHINGTON -- All politics is local -- except when it's not. And on Tuesday we saw signs that next year's congressional races might well not be local.

It was the first test of the developing theory that President Bush's multiplying political problems will produce a national referendum on his policies. To run with him, or against him, aye, that is the question now.

The president's last-minute campaign appearance in Virginia, a state he easily carried twice, was one measure of how desperate the GOP is growing this year. Bush campaigned on behalf of the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Jerry Kilgore.

It didn't work. The race with Democratic Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine was virtually tied when Bush tried to rush to the rescue. But Bush's visit was a flop, exciting few Republicans while turning independents and Democrats against Kilgore. Kaine romped to a clear victory despite Kilgore's tired hard-right campaign attacking his rival as a liberal. Doesn't the GOP have any new ideas?

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Key Quote:

"But the contests were held under the cloud of the conservative gloom that envelops Washington in the wake of the administration's problems. From the White House to Capitol Hill, Republicans have been under fire for screwing up hurricane assistance, the war in Iraq, classified national-security leaks, rising energy prices and a troublesome economy. Add incompetent appointees, unethical practices, charges of misleading the country to promote an unnecessary war and the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff for lying under oath."

"Makes you long for missing silverware and interns in blue dresses. "