First, another priceless prediction from Glenn Reynolds.
My prediction: Bush will rise in the polls as estranged conservatives warm to him in light of lefty indignation.
Meanwhile, back on planet earth, Bush’s approval ratings have hit 29%.
Then this gen from the smiling assassin, William Kristol, who still insists that victory in Iraq war is just there for the taking.
No, no, I think he’s back, and I think he’s speaking on the Senate floor tomorrow, and I hope he steps up. I don’t think he’s going to be the Republican nominee, but he could really do the country a service by assuming leadership of the people in the Senate, in the Congress, and to some degree, even in the country, who understand that we’re at war with al Qaeda, we’re in a proxy war with Iran. It’s a winnable war. We’re a great and rich and strong country. We can beat these guys. But we need to support our troops, and put our mind to it, and pay the necessary price.
Larry Jonhson on the other hand has a reality check for Kristol.
The devil is in the details and the details look bad.… Despite the sunny optimism of delusional Senators like John McCain and Joe Lieberman, the ground truth in Iraq gritty, grim, and trending toward disaster…..
So the trends show increased attacks on convoys, increased casualties among U.S. forces, declining enlistment in the U.S. Army and Senators McCain and Lieberman continue to insist that things are swell in Iraq. Oh yeah, this just in, at least 35 mortars just hit the Green Zone, killing and wounding several Americans.
And finally from the Dean of the Washington Press Corps back in February:
It may seem perverse to suggest that, at the very moment the House of Representatives is repudiating his policy in Iraq, President Bush is poised for a political comeback. But don’t be astonished if that is the case.
As Glenn Greenwald puts it, being on the right means never having to admit you’re wrong. Just put on a happy face, never admit you’re wrong and think positive.
It’s always the same storyline, and it’s always false. Bush is winning. The Republicans are strong. The primary defeat of Joe Lieberman will doom the Democrats. Opposition to warrantless eavesdropping and the Military Commissions Act will make Democrats look “soft on terror” and cost them the election. Americans hate hearings and investigations and pursuing them will make Bush stronger. Protecting Lewis Libby from prison will make Bush’s approval ratings rise because (according to the National Political Reporter of the Washington Post) it’s such a boring, irrelevant story. YAAWWN.