| Wednesday, June 28, 2006 |
| Cut and run fever running wild! |
What ever happened to that Karl Rove strategy of branding anyone who wants to set a timetable for beginning the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as a "cut-and-run" coward? Well, it seems to have run smack into a brick wall called General George Casey, glanced off the semi-independent Prime Minister of Iraq, bounced off and collided into a stone pilon called the American people.
And now, an episode of "how the Democrats accidentally stumbled into the right position on the war":
Most Americans say Congress should pass a resolution that includes a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll taken last weekend.
Exactly half of those surveyed want all U.S. forces out within 12 months.
Some 57% say Congress should pass a resolution that outlines a plan for withdrawing U.S. troops, while 39% say that should be left to the president and his advisers.
The percentage of Americans who say the president has "a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq" has dropped to 31%. This is a new low, but it's still higher than the 25% who say congressional Democrats have a clear plan. And how do Americans feel about the upcoming elections?
Americans are paying unusually close attention to the congressional elections in November, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, and they are more inclined to deliver big gains to Democrats than in any year since Republicans swept to control of the House and Senate in 1994.
The survey, taken Friday through Sunday, indicates that voters are more concerned about national issues than local ones — a situation that favors Democrats hoping to tap discontent over the Iraq war and gas prices — and prefer Democrats over Republicans on handling every major issue except terrorism.
President Bush looms as a significant drag: 39% of those surveyed say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who supports Bush. Just 21% say they would be more likely.
"At this point, it certainly looks like a significant tilt to the Democrats, but it's still quite early," says James Campbell, a political scientist at the University of Buffalo and author of The Presidential Pulse of Congressional Elections. The Dems need 15 House seats to take over that chamber, but the real action may be in the Senate, where one of the big hopefulls is in Tennessee. Clearly, the GOP is paying attention.
Meanwhile, the parties aren't really debating how to end the war. We are going to "cut and run" from Iraq. Both parties clearly want out (though clearly, Dick Cheney doesn't ... ever...) and the American people want out. I'll bet if you took a vote, most of the troops want out, too. This phony debate is really about who will benefit politically from getting the hell out of there.
Tags: Politics, News, News and politics, Iraq, Bush, War |
posted by JReid @ 6:39 AM   |
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