Numerous estimates from the government, think tanks and Wall Street suggest that this sort of package might add nearly 1 percent to the annual growth of gross domestic product -- the Congressional Budget Office now estimates that GDP will rise by a whopping $150 trillion over the next 10 years -- and also create roughly 1.5 million new jobs each year through 2007.
While the president may not get all he's asking for, this would still be quite an achievement. It would also mark the third tax cut passed thus far by George W. Bush -- a far cry from his father's economy-retarding tax-hike policy 12 years ago.
A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows Bush with a huge 71 percent approval rating right now. On tax policy, respondents had more confidence in Bush and the GOP (52 percent) than in congressional Democrats (38 percent). It seems that the president's political clout, even on taxes and the economy, is greater than many media pundits would have us believe.
The White House is now putting together a series of presidential speeches to sell the tax-cut package. This could even include a special session of Congress where Bush would announce the formal end of the Iraq war and make the case for tax cuts. Essentially, the president intends to go over the heads of congressmen and communicate directly with the public in the hope that grassroots voters will pressure elected representatives for a big economy-boosting tax cut. This sort of strategy was used successfully by President Reagan in the 1980s, when he slashed the top income-tax rate to 28 percent from 70 percent.
Beltway commentators continue to underestimate Bush's political prowess, but he remains committed to his big-picture goals of international peace and freedom, as well as domestic prosperity. As the president progresses on each front, a landslide victory in next year's election looks more and more likely for Bush and the GOP.