As Bush prepares address, Iraq sharpens national divide

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-02-01-bush-sotu_x.htm

As Bush prepares address, Iraq sharpens national divide
By Chuck Raasch, Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON — Matt Margolis is a 24-year-old graduate student in Beverly, Mass., who believes a stable, democratic Iraq is essential to winning the war on terrorism.

A recent poll finds that two-thirds of Americans think the country is more divided than it was a few years ago.
The White House via AP

"The Iraq war has become a divisive issue because the Democrats decided to make it one," said Margolis, who runs a Web site called Blogs for Bush. (Related story: Address to focus on Social Security)

Ben Scotch is a 70-year-old lawyer in Montpelier, Vt., who thinks Iraq turned the United States from righteous victim into hated aggressor. He's helped prompt 50 Vermont towns and cities to debate resolutions on ending the war.

"We had good will," said the former chairman of the Vermont American Civil Liberties Union. "We had the world with us (after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks). Now we have the world against us. How did this happen to us?"

Margolis and Scotch personify the chasm of George W. Bush's second term as president. As the president delivers his fourth State of the Union message Wednesday night, the war in Iraq is prompting comparisons to Vietnam among leading Democrats.<snip>

"The Iraq war has become a divisive issue because the Democrats decided to make it one," said Margolis, who runs a Web site called Blogs for Bush----

Gee, it couldn't have anything to do with the Iraq War itself, could it?