[Steve_Seattle]

I think Bush has been very strong in advancing his views, but he's finally been worn down by the media, the Dems, and events in Iraq. I remember the day of his first inauguration, it was cold, blustery, wet, and miserable in DC, and I thought it was a bad omen for his presidency. It seemed like the forces of evil were arrayed against him, and they've been unrelenting.

In Iraq, Bush was fighting three wars: against the insurgents, against the Dems, and against the press. Or more precisely, the insurgents, the Dems, and the press were all united against Bush. An incident like Abu Ghraib, for example, was a minor story, really, and was being dealt with by the military, but the press morphed it into a major, months-long story, featuring it and re-hashing it every night, bashing the military, bashing Bush, bashing America, and emboldening the insurgents. And that sort of thing happened over and over, and they finally just wore out Bush.

[Arizona Carolyn]

I don't disagree with anything you just said. I would add that I would have liked to see the Justice Department do more to take on all the leakers in this second term who have done everything possible to undermine not only this Presidency, but out country. In that regard, the buck stops with the President if he didn't direct Gonzales to be more agressive in investigating leaks throughout our government...

Now, off to cook dinner.