Dark Days in Dubya World

I hesitate to write the guy off, I've been predicting his fall for a long time now and it never seems to happen. But this has been another bad week for the Bushkevites. With Bush dipping below 40 even in the FOX propaganda poll even Murdoch's crew doesn't seem to be making any serious efforts at spin. Yesterday we had the Katrina tape leak which makes it clear that Bush was informed that New Orleans was in deep trouble. Poor Brownie came out looking like the good guy in the debacle. Murray Wass had some new documents today.

Two highly classified intelligence reports delivered directly to President Bush before the Iraq war cast doubt on key public assertions made by the president, Vice President Cheney, and other administration officials as justifications for invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein, according to records and knowledgeable sources.

The first report, delivered to Bush in early October 2002, was a one-page summary of a National Intelligence Estimate that discussed whether Saddam's procurement of high-strength aluminum tubes was for the purpose of developing a nuclear weapon.

Among other things, the report stated that the Energy Department and the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research believed that the tubes were "intended for conventional weapons," a view disagreeing with that of other intelligence agencies, including the CIA, which believed that the tubes were intended for a nuclear bomb.

[....]

The second classified report, delivered to Bush in early January 2003, was also a summary of a National Intelligence Estimate, this one focusing on whether Saddam would launch an unprovoked attack on the United States, either directly, or indirectly by working with terrorists.

The report stated that U.S. intelligence agencies unanimously agreed that it was unlikely that Saddam would try to attack the United States -- except if "ongoing military operations risked the imminent demise of his regime" or if he intended to "extract revenge" for such an assault, according to records and sources.

With the situation in Iraq deteriorating it is now obvious to even many of the Kool-Aid crowd that the administration lied about the threat of Iraq.

While the Washington Post headline reads U.S., India Reach Deal On Nuclear Cooperation it should have read "George Bush, India Reach Deal On Nuclear Cooperation" since it would appear the deal is going over like the proverbial turd in a lunchbox among Republican lawmakers. I heard David Brooks on NPR this afternoon and he's all but written off the Republican's chances of retaining control of both houses of congress. He said Bush must be polling in the upper 40's which he agreed isn't going to happen.