US President George W. Bush may still be getting bipartisan support in his war on terrorism, but analysts are asking themselves how long the current truce between Republicans and Democrats can last.
The September 11 terror strikes on the United states followed by US-led strikes on Afghanistan has significantly altered the political scenario in the United States as well as campaign strategies, placing parties' political agendas on hold.
Yet, nearly two months after the tragedy that left around 5,000 dead and missing and forced the White House to declare a war on terrorism, the spirit of political cooperation is beginning to crack.
Democrats and Republicans are preparing, albeit timidly, for action.
Mid-term legislative elections are still some way off, scheduled for November 2002 and in which control of Congress will again be up for grabs.
So far, US lawmakers have responded positively to Bush's legislative requests aimed at bolstering the US-led war on terrorism declared after strikes alleged to have been masterminded by terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network.
Exceptionally high support for Bush can be measured in part by some 65 billion dollars in emergency spending pushed through Congress, as well as an impressive judicial and political arsenal promoted to aid in the fight against terrorism.
However, the congressional machine has noticeably begun to stall in discussions surrounding the role of the state, both in relation to the aviation security issue, and also over the pull the economy out of recession.
The economic situation has showcased the more traditional schisms between Democrats and Republicans.
The Democrats want to increase spending aimed at helping the economy, while the Republicans advocate a cut in spending.
"The political mood is very tranquil, except for the problem that the economy is so bad," says Stephen Hess, an expert from the Brookings Institution. "It's not what they wanted it to be. That's very worrisome."
"Once you get into even number years (election years) in the US, it's pretty much all politics."
Potentially offering a foretaste of what the mid-term elections might reveal, Tuesday's local elections will see, among other races, a new mayor elected in New York and governors in Virginia and New Jersey.
The election campaigns have gone ahead largely away from the spotlight, due to the September terrorist attacks.
The Democrats hope to win all three. According to Hess: "It's going to help the Democrats, in general, in part because I think they've been frustrated by the rally around the flag that had to go to a Republican president."
But, Bush's current high popularity is not generally being transmitted to his Republican party, according to University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato.
"One implication that is important for 2002, Bush is at the highest point any president has ever been at, but he's not going to be 90 percent next November," says Sabato.
"And yet the Republican nominees, even in a conservative state like Virginia, are losing by a wide margin," he notes.
For the Republicans, the objective, after winning the White House, is to compensate for a number of mediocre years in Congress, after their comeback of 1994 when they took control of both Upper and Lower House.
The lost control of the Senate last June, after a Republican defected to become independent, reverting the political balance. And in the last legislative election, a year ago, they barely managed to keep hold of a majority.
The Democrats need to boost their 50-49 majority, and have their sights on taking back significant terrain in the House of Representatives -- AFP
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
