U.S. President George W. Bush is beginning his second term of office (Thursday, Washington time). Having outlined an aggressive agenda for the next four years, he has said he intends to use the political capital accumulated during his first term to accomplish his objectives. That will require spending every penny so acquired in some cases. Other, perhaps more important, objectives will not require use of this capital as much as compromise.
The most urgent tasks in the second Bush administration are to bridge the bitter divides in American politics and to restore U.S. authority and leadership in the world.
Mr. Bush has made no attempt to hide his ambitions. On several occasions, he has said he intends to reshape U.S. domestic politics and policy in his second term. Topping his agenda are tort reform, aggressive tax reform (making permanent earlier tax cuts) and partial privatization of the government-mandated pension system (Social Security) with personal accounts.