A handful of Senate Democrats staged a last-ditch effort to smear President Bush’s budget nominee Jim Nussle, but their cries were muted when 24 of their colleagues voted for his confirmation this afternoon. Nussle takes over at the Office of Management and Budget at a critical time. Despite controlling both houses of Congress, Democrats have failed to pass a single spending bill this year. With the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, there’s much work to be done.

Today’s debate offered some interesting moments, including a spirited attack from socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who railed against Bush’s economic policies. While conceding that he likes Nussle personally, Sanders criticized the administration for being out of touch and nominating someone who wouldn’t stand up to the president. As Sen. Judd Gregg (R.-N.H.) later pointed out, did Sanders really think Bush would nominate someone who disagreed with his economic policies? The socialist Sanders didn’t seems to care, getting aide from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D.-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.), both of whom voted against Nussle.

The biggest surprise of the day came from Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D.-N.D.), who just one month ago said Nussle was “clearly qualified for the job” and voted for him in committee. But something happened in the course of the August recess. Conrad took a dramatic 180-degree turn and decided to vote against confirming Nussle.

Throughout the course of the afternoon, Democrats repeated their same-old talking points assailing budget deficits and tax cuts. Of course, they failed to mention any of the good news about the economy, such as the 23 consecutive quarters of economic growth and the creation of 8.3 million jobs. But that’s not what this debate was about. As Gregg eloquently explained, the Democrats have proposed a budget that increases taxes and would reverse our economic gains — hardly a plan Nussle would endorse. At the end of the day, however, Bush won yet another battle with the Democrat-led Congress, showing just how little power Reid wields from his perch.