America’s Republican problem

America’s Republican problem
Bush is only a symptom of a virulent infection

Only George W. Bush could get away with violating the spirit of the Constitution and the letter of federal law by spying without authorization on American citizens here at home and still see his poll numbers take a slight jump. After all, he has played the terror card often and adeptly since September 11.

Over the past couple of weeks, Bush has been standing tall and talking tough. And, in a limited way, it’s been working to his advantage. Bush has had the truly good news of high turnout under relatively peaceful conditions in Iraq’s most recent round of elections, and that accrues to his credit. But what seems to have helped Bush most is the simple act of repeating over and over that we are winning in Iraq. Like the good snake-oil salesman he is, Bush is betting he can continue to fool most of the people most of the time. Hell knows he’s done it before.

These days, however, reality keeps intruding. It’s gotten too hard to hide the fact that the US is mired in a smoldering civil war in Iraq. Most of the world is alienated from the US as a result. And, according to almost any major poll you consult, a majority of Americans are, if not alienated, at least disapproving of the war and Bush’s handling of it.

When the Washington Post and ABC News teamed up a little more than a month ago to take the nation’s political temperature, they found the prevailing sentiment to be "significant discontent." The Democrats appear to be gaining a slight edge over the Republicans, but it is tenuous indeed. Their principal advantage seems to be that they are not Republicans.

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http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/editorial/documents/05163475.asp