The Moose notes the likely collateral damage from the nuclear option.
The metaphor for Bush's second term may be his mountain bike ride in the park while D.C. was faced with a terrorist scare. Although that was a false alarm, that may not be the case with the upcoming showdown in the Senate. If Frist pulls the nuclear trigger, the Majority Leader may become the gravedigger for the President's domestic agenda for his second term. Meanwhile, the President is blithely absent from the fray.
W's social security proposal is already dead in the water. Besides a pork laden energy bill, the cupboard is bare on the domestic front. If Senate Republicans kill the filibuster, Democrats will put the final nail in the coffin for any hopes that the President can move any favored legislation through the upper chamber.
The net result is that the President could officially become a lame duck with the implementation of the nuclear option. While he will get his appellate nominees and clear the path for appointees to the Supreme Court, W. will have to say good-bye to any hopes to pass legacy type legislation.
Of course, it's not exactly small potatoes to transform the judiciary and reverse the last sixty years of progressive reforms. -- | 
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