George W. Bush's Second Term As President of The United States - Mid-term Elections

Mid-term Elections

President Bush lent his views to a few controversies that would potentially shape the mid-term elections, held on November 7, 2006. On October 11 Bush called Mark Foley's actions in the congressional page scandal disgusting and said the Republicans would retain control of Congress in the 2006 congressional elections despite the scandal. On October 30, the John Kerry said, "You know, education - if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." Bush countered, "The senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful. The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer armed forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots - and Senator Kerry owes them an apology." Kerry initially refused to apologize, saying, "The White House's attempt to distort my true statement is a remarkable testament to their abject failure in making America safe. It's a stunning statement about their willingness to reduce anything in America to raw politics." Kerry caved in to bipartisan pressure and apologized the next day on November 1.

Bush also went on the campaign trail, stressing that the Republicans were strong on national security and would keep taxes low, unlike the Democrats.

But Bush's tone changed accordingly when the Republicans lost the majority of state governorships and control of both houses of the bicameral legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate, to the Democrats. The next day on November 8, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned. Rumsfeld, who had endured several calls for his resignation but had won what many thought was an assurance of his job security as recently as November 1 by Bush's voiced confidence in his job performance, served until the confirmation of his successor, whom Bush nominated that day to be former CIA Director Robert Gates. Bush spoke about these developments in a press conference. Regarding the elections, he said, "Look, this was a close election. If you look at race by race, it was close. The cumulative effect, however, was not too close. It was a thumping... I'm obviously disappointed with the outcome of the election, and as the head of the Republican Party, I share a large part of the responsibility. I told my party's leaders that it is now our duty to put the elections behind us and work together with the Democrats and independents on the great issues facing this country." Bush highlighted bipartisan efforts in the past: "We had some pretty good success early on in this administration. We got the No Child Left Behind Act passed, which was an important part of bipartisan legislation. We got some tax cuts passed with Democrat votes", adding later that the prospects of immigration reform are improved under a Democratic-led Congress. He also said, "I knew we were going to lose seats, I just didn't know how many... I thought when it was all said and done, the American people would understand the importance of taxes and the importance of security." Regarding the Defense Secretary post, he said he made the decision based on the consent from Rumsfeld, whom he said appreciated "the value of bringing in a fresh perspective during a critical period in this war ", and Gates from speaking to them on election day, and that the change would have happened regardless of the outcome of the elections. While affirming the United States' commitment to the mission in Iraq through statements to U.S. enemies, U.S. troops, and the Iraqi people, he said he was "looking forward" to the suggestions of the Iraq Study Group, of which Gates was a member at the time, on U.S. policy in Iraq.