Three years, one massive terrorist attack, two wars and countless domestic and foreign policy fiascos later, his approval rating (once as high as 84 percent) has dropped to 46 percent.

So how does what President Bush claimed to accomplish six months into his presidency compare with what he actually has accomplished to date, six months before it ends? Let's go to the (abridged) text.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Good afternoon. The vice president and I are pleased to welcome the Cabinet to the Rose Garden. Together with Congress, we are proving that a new tone, a clear agenda and active leadership can bring significant progress to the nation's capital.

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That this administration brought "a new tone" to Washington is indisputable. The man who ran as "a uniter, not a divider" is the most divisive, partisan president in American history. His "clear agenda" is based not on the "compassionate conservatism" we used to hear so much about, but rather a worldview based in equal parts on indulging fringe millennial Christians and tossing government pork to corporate cronies.

BUSH: We are ending deadlock and drift and making our system work on behalf of the American people.

Despite the fact that his own party controls both the House and the Senate, the President has had extremely limited success pushing his agenda through the legislature. Last week, following a protracted, ugly and ultimately fruitless debate over gay marriage, Congress adjourned for its six-week recess. Despite pressure from the president and Republican leadership, Congress was unable to pass the enormous, pork-laden, industry-enriching energy, transportation and corporate tax bills it spent months cobbling together before it left.

BUSH: Six months ago, I chose a distinguished Cabinet, took a solemn oath and promised to fight for the things close to my heart. My administration pledged to bring stability and high standards to Washington and to lead for the sake of all Americans.

Well, the rich ones, anyway.

BUSH: We acted quickly to pass the first major tax cut in a generation, to help families in an economic slowdown and to help rebuild the momentum of our economy.

Remember that $300 tax (p)rebate you might have received back then? Remember what a huge difference it made to you and your family? It is no secret that our economy has been booming ever since. In fact, just yesterday, the AP reported that "[t]he White House will project soon that this year's federal deficit will exceed $420 billion, a record figure certain to ignite partisan warfare over President Bush's handling of the economy."

Also, see Lawrence Mishel and Lee Price's excellent article in the American Prospect for a detailed explanation of how Bush's tax cuts have failed to stimulate the economy and create jobs as promised.

BUSH: Both houses of Congress have passed major education reform legislation, which will bring a new passion for excellence to America's public schools.

Ah yes, of course. Nothing brings a new passion for excellence to America's public schools like enormous unfunded mandates, rigid and often unworkable standardized testing requirements that severely limit teachers' discretion and the ever-present, looming threat of federally imposed sanctions hanging over the heads of teachers and administrators.

BUSH: We have put our foreign policy on sound footing. We are strengthening our relationships with our allies and moving to build a world that trades more freely.

Psych!

BUSH: There's much more to do. In September, the second stage of our work begins, and I will be guided by a few goals. First, we must finish the work we have begun. On the topics of education and the disadvantaged, our nation has needs that will not wait. Americans, come September, will be watching.

And indeed, come September, Americans were watching. First, we watched as those hijacked planes crashed into buildings, and then we watched the members of Congress join hands and sing "God Bless America" in a bipartisan show of unity on the steps of the Capitol. Then we continued to watch as they filed back inside and, in the name of that bipartisan spirit of unity, passed the USA PATRIOT Act without reading it, vastly increasing police powers and curtailing our civil rights.

And we were still watching later when the president, who had transformed the spirit of bipartisan unity into a stick with which to bully Congress, capitalized on our fear and led us into a war we never should have fought in the first place.

E-mail Alissa Rowinsky Wright at alissa at flakmag dot com.