And now, nothing less than the ebbing of President Bush's power...

We'll start with the obvious: There is only one president, and it is George W. Bush. Until noon on Jan. 20, 2009, he will hold the full range of legal powers of the nation's chief executive.

But one need only look a few feet from the Oval Office this afternoon for evidence that almost four months from the inauguration of his successor, his political authority is being diluted.

To be sure, the president is busy with the duties of his office. Just consider his schedule today:

By early afternoon, he had already met with the president of Lebanon...

and the president of the Palestinian Authority...

He met with the leadership of the Orthodox Union, a 110-year-old Jewish group...

He signed one of the major bills to come out of the final days of the current congressional session --amendments to the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, which was one of the major domestic policy achievements of his father, President George H. W. Bush (far left in the photo below)...

And later in the day he is meeting with the prime minister of India.

And right now, to push forward the tentative agreement on his proposal to bail out Wall Street to the tune of $700 billion -- and, he argues, to improve the financial picture on Main Street -- he is meeting with House and Senate Democratic and Republican leaders.

And two others are joining the conference in the Cabinet Room, next door to the Oval Office: Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain.

Had the economic crisis occurred perhaps three months ago, there is little chance they'd have found seats at the polished oblong table.

But their presence today is a recognition of the ebbing of Bush's political clout -- and the fact that if they are on board, whatever agreement emerges will have a far better chance of passage.

The presidential campaign, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said at her daily news briefing today, "was starting to seep into the debate."

"The thought was that bringing these two candidates together would actually help finalize the framework that we were closing in on, and we think that that's all for the better."

-- James Gerstenzang

Photos: President Bush with President Michel Suleiman of Lebanon and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. Credit: Matthew Cavanaugh / EPA. President Bush with leaders of the Orthodox Union and signing the amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press.

Comments

[Mark the Patriot]

George W. Bush has earned every bit of rebuke he has from the American people. He has run this country as a fraternity president would have: do what I say, do it now, and I'll take care of my buddies. The war, Katrina, the economic debacle, FISA, torture, excessive government size and spending, and basic civil rights - all have suffered under the reign of George W. Bush. He should never be forgiven for the concept of preemptive war. Is it any wonder why he is so disliked by the vast, vast majority of Americans? In the world of nations, he has transformed the United States into a severely weakened country led by an inept, incompetent, transparent back-slapper who has embarassed Americans with one squandered opportunity after another. Herbert Hoover can at last rest in peace, knowing that Bush has overtaken Hoover as unquestionably the worst president of our country's history.