President Bush slipped into New York City Tuesday for a fund-raising lunch at the River Club at which he offered some indications of his second-term domestic policy agenda. He spoke of the need for reforms of the civil justice system. “To create an environment so that the great entrepreneurial spirit flourishes, we better rein in the junk and frivolous lawsuits that threaten capital formation,” Mr. Bush said. He spoke of the need to make his tax cuts permanent. “It’s a huge mistake for Congress to let the tax relief expire,” Mr. Bush said, speaking of his reductions in the income tax, his expansion of the child tax credit, his repeal of the death tax, and his reduction in the marriage penalty. And he spoke of the need for more sweeping reforms of the nation’s tax laws: “to make sure the tax code is simple, easy to understand.”

Some conservatives have been grumbling that Mr. Bush hasn’t offered enough in the way of a second-term domestic agenda. We’d be happy if he added Social Security privatization to the mix, and as the campaign wears on, he may well roll out some new ideas. But if all Mr. Bush achieves in his second term is making his tax cuts permanent, reining in out-of-control lawsuits, and creating a tax code that is simple and easy to understand — all the while pressing a war on terror — it’d be enough to spur the remarkable economic growth and prosperity that have already begun to take hold. And, the war on terror aside, to secure Mr. Bush a solid place in the historic ranks of American presidents.