Defeat

So what happens in the Culture Wars if Terri Schiavo dies? Does Terri become a euthanasia martyr, providing the Religious Right with a needed boost of enthusiasm? Does a flurry of new bills get introduced to tighten the laws on aid to those in Persistent Vegetative State?

On the other hand, following a wave a public revulsion at Republican hard-ball tactics, would Schiavo's death be the second defeat of Bush's second term (Social Security being the first)? Might more defeats follow? Are the dominoes poised to topple?

It's dangerous for politicians to be caught on the losing end of causes. George W. Bush is usually pretty good at distinguishing winning hands from losing hands, but like LBJ in 1966, Bush is beginning to learn some hard lessons. It gets harder to avoid blame when your party controls all three branches of government.

At Slate, Jacob Weisberg figures out how Bush can pull victory from the jaws of Social Security defeat:

But if Bush is shrewd enough to euthanize carve-out accounts while shifting to make solvency his goal, he will leave his Democratic opponents in a quandary. A package of innocuous tax increases and benefit cuts could extend the life of the trust fund out to 75 years in a fairly painless way. Substantively, it would be hard for even the most partisan Democrats to oppose this kind of compromise, which serves their goal of protecting the future of Social Security. But politically, Democrats would be loath to help Bush turn his first major defeat into another political victory.

In other words, to "win", Bush would have to adopt the Democratic position. Sounds like a defeat to me! Democrats won't be loath to help Bush accept defeat....here, let me help! Need a face-saving compromise? I've got the best cosmetics in town! Need to stab allies in the back? Try my pocket knife!