WASHINGTON -- As this supercharged political year of 2004 comes to a close, it seems appropriate to take a look at where Americans stand, and what they decided and changed in the past year.
The answer really is "not much." They decided to retain George W. Bush as the president of the United States, a decision that took an emotional toll on the nation and cost more than $3 billion.
They gave him a little bit more help in the Congress, but not enough to give him much potency on Capital Hill. He will still have to scrape and fight to get his way in the Senate, and from the looks of things on the Intelligence Bill and the final appropriations measure, the Republican House Members are demonstrating that they have a mind of their own, too.