Every politician, sooner or later, starts to worry about the legacy they will leave behind them. This concern encourages some to cling to power too long, an accusation which is currently being levelled at British prime minister Tony Blair. President Bush, however, does not have the option of delaying his departure date. US presidents are allowed only two full terms and, while he has more than half of the second term yet to serve, there is a real risk that his departing "gift" to his party will be loss of control of either one or both houses of congress.
Mr Bush's consistent decline in the opinion polls has seen his approval rating drop to just 33 per cent. He could be expected to dismiss the findings of one opinion poll but three in the space of a week, all painting the same bleak picture, goes way beyond deniability. Other US presidents have sunk this low before and even lower, notably Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and George Bush senior, but no president since polling began has had such low support figures in the run-up to mid-term elections.
Bill Clinton will be remembered for many things by his fellow Americans but he will be remembered by a large number of Democrats as the person who let the House of Representatives fall into Republican control for the first time since Eisenhower's presidency. The Republicans also increased their senate majority significantly during the Clinton era. Now, for the first time in 10 years, the Democrats have a real chance of turning the tables.
It is not just Iraq which has Republicans on the back foot. The polls say that a majority of voters believe Democrats can be more trusted to solve big issue problems such as oil prices, the war on terror and illegal immigration. It is unease over out-of-control immigration from Mexico which has the White House most troubled. Last week Mr Bush delivered a reasonable speech on immigration rooted in proposals which are realistic but to no avail. Unskilled workers have not received any increase in earnings in the last six years and they feel that immigration of cheap labour is part of the reason. The Democrats are getting the bounce of the ball purely because they are not in power; it is not an issue on which they have a coherent and credible policy.
The Republican majorities in both houses had seemed secure, if only because it is so difficult to defeat incumbents in the US elections. But many of their candidates are concerned enough to make it clear that they do not want Mr Bush campaigning for them. But if Mr Bush thinks he is going through tough times, they are nothing compared to his final two years in office if his party loses power in congress.