How can you lose something you never had? The fact Bush said he had political capital was all the traditional media. Whatever. It's gone:
What became of that political capital? "I'd say I'm spending that capital on the war," Bush told reporters. "Social Security - it didn't get done," he added.
With many Republicans putting distance between themselves and Bush on Iraq, it wasn't clear where exactly he was spending the capital.
"What political capital does he have? He doesn't have any on Iraq," said Stephen Wayne, a professor of government at Georgetown University. "It was a bogus claim. He was emboldened by his election victory, which he viewed as a referendum on his presidency and on his party."
