336 a short history of the united states
Democratic control. Committee chairmanships were assumed and a
series of investigations begun that uncovered activities in the White
House that demonstrated how far and how aggressive had been the ef-
forts of the administration to expand and protect presidential powers.
Most important of all, both the Senate and the House in March
2007 passed supplemental spending bills for the war that included a
provision calling for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq by
2008. Bush vetoed it, and the Democrats were unable to override it. He
also threatened to veto any bill that came before him if it contained a
benchmark giving a date for withdrawal. Democrats insisted that their
action was in accordance with what the electorate had demanded just
six months earlier. Critics now declared that the war was unwinnable
and might lead to sectarian violence not only in the Middle East but
throughout the Muslim world. By the end of 2007 the Democrats com-
pletely failed in their efforts to end the war. They lacked the necessary
votes in the Senate to block filibusters, and the Republicans in the
House stood united behind the President in preventing the override of
his vetoes. By the beginning of 2008 the Democrats had little to show
for their astounding victory in 2006 in ending the war.
In the meantime Iran continued to develop a nuclear program in
defiance of UN resolutions demanding a halt to such activities. The
likelihood of atomic weapons reaching radical terrorists became fright-
eningly possible. The United States, the only superpower in the world,
had lost the respect of most nations and its ability to enforce peaceful
solutions to international problems. Some Americans even wondered if
their Great Republic was now in full decline, its place as the world
leader to be taken by the rising powers of China or India. They were
shocked at finding themselves disliked and criticized by the people of
many countries around the world. And because of mounting foreclo-
sures on homes resulting from subprime lending practices, the increase
of unemployment, the weakness of the dollar overseas, an erratic stock
market, and climbing gasoline and food prices, it appeared at the be-
ginning of 2008 that the nation was headed toward a recession.
Still, America’s large consumer society, technological superiority,
and creative genius remained viable and gave hope that its people could
find the leadership that would bring the country safely through this
trying period of their history.