New term, old agenda for Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush will officially start his second term as U.S. president after being sworn in at noon on Capitol Hill. Fresh from a narrow election victory that he said had absolved him of accountability for the Iraq war and given him new political capital to spend on his conservative agenda, Bush will now go before America and the world to outline his goals for his upcoming term in his inauguration speech.

Given that his approval rating -- in the high 40s -- is the lowest for any re-elected president starting a new term in more than 50 years, that he is confronted with deep fiscal and trade deficits, a weak job market, the Iraq mess and mistrust abroad, many are hoping Bush Jr will use the speech to send a more conciliatory tone to the world.

But that is unlikely to happen. Bush promised to "show purpose without arrogance" in his first inaugural speech but found it didn't play well with his core political supporters.

Yet in many ways Washington doesn't have much choice but to be more yielding. It needs help from the international community to restore peace in Iraq, for the sake of its economy it needs to avoid creating too much friction with China over trade, and it needs help from Asia in dealing with North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

The international system through the United Nations similarly tries to ensure the world doesn't fall victim to the law of the jungle. Bush needs support to get things done. To continue in his uncompromising and unilateral way, either at home or on the global stage is simply too dangerous. -- The Nation, Bangkok