Keep repeating this phrase: "The unpopular President Bush"
The new WP poll and other presidential job approval polls at www.pollingreport.com show that he has numbers under 50%. This is the lowest job number ever recorded for an incumbent re-elected president a mere one month after the election.
Unpopular presidents don't have political capital, particularly if they are lame ducks. Why should anyone -- certainly Dems and even Reps -- stick their political necks on the line for unpopular policy votes (the gutting of Social Security, for instance) for a guy who is down in the polls and will never be on the ballot again??? They don't need to and they won't.