Busy White House pulls out of post-election dumps

Ever since Democrats took control of Congress in January, the White House has seemed in something of a funk -- acting petulant when confronted with Democratic demands, irritated with the public focus on bad news in Iraq and the controversy over Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, and lethargic in coming up with new ideas.

But that changed last week. On Tuesday, Bush announced new sanctions against Sudan and a nominee for World Bank president who was quickly embraced by both parties and allies around the world.

On Wednesday, the president announced a summit with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and an initiative that he said would double spending on AIDS prevention in Africa.

And on Thursday, Bush announced a new effort against global warming, saying he would lead a push to get the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases to commit to cutting back.

"I think it was a rare and good week for a White House who normally had too many problems either on the Gonzales or Iraq front to actually string together a series of news events with actual content and a theme," said Gene Sperling, senior fellow for economic studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former advisor to President Clinton. "It's probably one of the first weeks where they've defined the news content as opposed to having external or unfortunate events define it against their will."

Whether any of Bush's initiatives bears fruit remains to be seen. But in the short run, they signal that the administration is adjusting to new political realities at home and abroad and is working hard to remain relevant.

"I think we've had a very great week this week in announcing initiatives that the president has been building on over his time here at the White House," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Friday.

The flurry of activity was pushed in part by the calendar, with Bush heading to Europe this week for the annual G-8 summit of world leaders.

Faced with international pressure to do more on global warming, the administration needed to at least shift U.S. rhetoric -- if not policy -- before confronting allies anxious about the president's go-slow approach to the issues.