By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - On the campaign trail, belting out promises for the next four years, President Bush (news - web sites) exudes confidence and optimism. Yet the reality of a second term is that Bush would be boxed in by many of the momentous decisions he made in the first.
The United States led the invasion of Iraq (news - web sites), so Bush now faces the task of finding a way out of the war — and living up to his promise to leave the nation as a model democracy in the Arab world.
He's restrained by two realities. The reluctance of U.S. allies to send more soldiers to Iraq makes it tough for Bush to bring American troops home any time soon. On the flip side, persistent questions about the rationale for the war make it harder for Bush to let the U.S. death toll — now more than 1,100 — continue to climb.
-snip-
"Part of the jargon is 'staying the course,' but you can also be stuck in the course," American University political scientist Alan J. Lichtman says about Bush's restricted options abroad and at home.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=ap/bush_if_elected