Reply #7: Sullivan: Bush’s final gamble: giving Iraq a dictator? [View All]

[bigtree]

Sunday, August 20th, 2006

Andrew Sullivan

Pollster John Zogby opined: “President Bush’s numbers mainly reflect the country’s thinking on the War in Iraq, and most people have made up their minds that the War overall has not been worth the loss of American lives. Terrorism is an important issue to Americans, but when it comes to judging Bush’s presidency, their decision is based largely on Iraq.”

Pessimism about Iraq has deepened on every front since the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Last week’s Pew poll found that 63% believed that the US was “losing ground” in preventing a civil War in Iraq. Among Republicans, the numbers have dropped 16% on this question in the past two months alone. More worryingly, a clear majority now believes that Bush is not a “strong leader” and “not trustworthy”, two key qualities Bush once had commanding support on.

And anti-incumbent feeling is stronger than at any time since the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994. One poll last week had Bush’s ratings at a new low of 34%. Crunch time approaches.

If the Republicans are to recover by November 2008, let alone November 2006, they have to get Iraq behind them. They have to show progress or provide some credible strategy for victory that is not simply more of the gruelling same. Bush doesn’t have one.


http://www.rinf.com/columnists/news/bushs-final-gamble-giving-iraq-a-dictator