June 11, 2007

Bush returned home

President Bush braced for problems at home Monday with the cheers from his European trip still ringing in his ears. Bulgaria, once the most loyal Soviet ally during the Cold War but now an American friend, was Bush's last stop on a six-country journey. Thousands of Bulgarians lined the cobblestoned main street through Nevsky Square as Bush and President Georgi Parvanov watched troops goose-stepping to military music. Bush prayed before a wreath at an eternal flame that marks Bulgaria's tomb of the unknown soldier. With 1 1/2 years left in his term, Bush returns home with dismal poll ratings, declining influence and an unpopular war in Iraq in its fifth year. The political world already is turning to the 2008 presidential race.

A battle over Gonzales' future, simmering for weeks, moved to a new stage with Senate Democrats pressing for a no-confidence vote the attorney general told Congress repeatedly he could not recall key details in the firing of eight U.S. prosecutors. An overhaul of the nation's ineffective immigration laws represents Bush's best hope for a major legislative achievement, because earlier efforts to revamp Social Security, rewrite the tax code and extend expiring tax cuts are apparently doomed. The immigration bill was put aside last week after the Senate twice refused Democratic efforts to cut off debate. The president has been criticized for not doing enough for the bill, which is bitterly opposed by many conservatives in his party. Before Bulgaria, Bush's trip took him to the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Italy and Albania. Bush returned home with unfinished business with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who objects to a U.S. missile shield for Europe and has proposed an alternative that the White House seems unlikely to embrace. Bush and Putin will meet in Kennebunkport, Maine, on July 1-2 to try to halt the slide in U.S.-Russian relations. Bulgaria's leaders worry that the rocket shield would not cover southeastern parts of Europe, including their own country. Bulgaria also feels caught in the middle between Washington and Moscow, upon which it is almost entirely dependent for energy supplies.

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