Doubts over Iraq drive a volatile U.S. campaign

Volatile? They must really be in trouble if it's "volatile", that means a big swing is needed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With three weeks left in a volatile U.S. election campaign, growing public unhappiness with the Iraq war has become the top obstacle for Republicans in their fight to keep control of Congress, pollsters and analysts said.

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"This election has become a referendum on Bush and a referendum on his principal policy, which in the minds of voters is Iraq," said pollster Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center.

"It is clear the public is angry with President Bush and therefore with Republicans for a war that has his name on it," he said.

Iraq has been a critical theme on the campaign trail all year, with Republicans frequently on the defensive over Democratic calls for a change of course and charges the Republicans are rubber-stamps for Bush's decisions.

WaPo

The press, in this and other articles, are setting up a context where Republican retention of the House will seem plausible. I've been seeing such articles pop up all over the place in the last several days; I expect many more going in to November 7.

Before the 2004 election, Bushboi gave an exclusive interview from the Oval Office to someone (iirc) from Fox News. Bush was hemming and hawing, "uh-ing" his way through his partial clause non-sentence non-sequiter answers to questions about Iraq and the economy etc. Until one point, when he was asked if he thought he'd win the election. At that point Bush gained focus and strong confidence and answered in unbroken english, "I know I'll win". I turned to my wife and said "it's over, the fix is in."

There's another thread here about Republicans angry because Bushboi has no plans on how he'll govern in the event of a Democratic takeover of the House. Could it be because "the fix is in"? Part of the fix being exercise of the Rovian Wurlitzer through the punditocracy and complicit mainstream press to create the illusion that Republican victory is seemingly plausible.

Volatile suggests rapid swings back and forth. That has not been the case. The erosion of Republican support has been steady and consistent.