The War is over continued

Over the weekend Frank Rich said; "Someone Tell the President the War Is Over". As we get closer to the 2006 elections and the "turning points" in Iraq continue to leave us moving in the same direction it may be the Republican lawmakers who tell Bush the war is over.
Bad Iraq News Worries Some in G.O.P. on '06

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 - A stream of bad news out of Iraq, echoed at home by polls that show growing impatience with the war and rising disapproval of President Bush's Iraq policies, is stirring political concern in Republican circles, party officials said Wednesday.

Some said that the perception that the war was faltering was providing a rallying point for dispirited Democrats and could pose problems for Republicans in the Congressional elections next year.

Republicans said a convergence of events - including the protests inspired by the mother of a slain American soldier outside Mr. Bush's ranch in Texas, the missed deadline to draft an Iraqi Constitution and the spike in casualties among reservists - was creating what they said could be a significant and lasting shift in public attitude against the war.

The Republicans described that shift as particularly worrisome, occurring 14 months before the midterm elections. As further evidence, they pointed to a special election in Ohio two weeks ago, where a Democratic marine veteran from Iraq who criticized the invasion decision came close to winning in a district that should have easily produced a Republican victory.

They are still few but there are already defections.

"There is just no enthusiasm for this war," said Representative John J. Duncan Jr., a Tennessee Republican who opposes the war. "Nobody is happy about it. It certainly is not going to help Republican candidates, I can tell you that much."

Representative Wayne T. Gilchrest, a Maryland Republican who originally supported the war but has since turned against it, said he had encountered "a lot of Republicans grousing about the situation as a whole and how they have to respond to a lot of questions back home."

"I have been to a lot of funerals," Mr. Gilchrest said.

Even wingnut in chief, Grover Norquist sees potential problems.

Grover Norquist, a conservative activist with close ties to the White House and Mr. Bush's senior adviser, Karl Rove, said: "If Iraq is in the rearview mirror in the '06 election, the Republicans will do fine. But if it's still in the windshield, there are problems."

And there is nothing to indicate it won't still be in the windshield. If Republicans needed another reason to distance themselves from Bush The Rasmussen Report gave them one.

Thursday August 18, 2005--For the second straight day, just 43% of American adults approve of the way George W. Bush is performing his role as President. That's the lowest level ever recorded by Rasmussen Reports.

Fifty-six percent (56%) disapprove, the highest ever recorded.

The President's Approval Rating has fallen to 39% among women and 47% among men. Seventy-six percent (76%) of Republicans still give the President's Job Performance their Approval. That view is shared by 15% of Democrats and 35% of those not affiliated with either major political party.