Sorry for the eye strain. I spaced this out but the site compressed it in places. Also, of course it should have said 2006 not 2008. Haste makes waste but this essay had to be updated so many times that a detail or two got by me.
Great work...I think you are right on...but we can never let down our guard...the Democrats will still fight...and cheat...the counter to your article is how Lame our current Republicans have become...we need to pass some laws...and change Social Security, taxes, cut spending, etc. We are not doing so well either.
Lots of good data here, but any that does not fit the MSM's version of the RAT agenda will be buried. The people who need most to hear it, those who "hold their nose" and vote RAT won't have a clue.
I agree with much of what you said, except that imho Americans are greatly emotionally invested in Iraq. Forget about the wacko Dem fringe that has hijacked the party. I think everyone who is rational knows that Iraq must be won decisively and we must achieve our goals there. I also believe that the more Americans think about it, the more they realize that there will be several more wars before the war on terror is over.
Syria and Iran immediately come to mind. But the main thing that libs don't realize and conservatives do, is that this war is for all the marbles. We have choice but to carry on. The Bush lied nonsense really has no traction. Most people don't believe it, don't care even if it was true and realize the gravity of the situation. It is really the dems who are left with a gravitas vacuum.
Finally, the poll numbers reflecting badly on Bush and the War are meaningless. War just like politics is a roller coaster. At one moment everything seems okay and you're calm and in the next moment, you terrified and sure you're gonna die. Not too mention the ennui that historically sets in during second terms.
Finally, LA is now a red state. They lost 600k voters minimum most of who,if they have any sense, will never come back. They will no longer need to send school buses to the 9th ward to round up all those dem votes.
These constant Iraq polls mean nothing. Elections decide politics, not polls. To the extent the Dems can keep Iraq an issue, the 06 election will turn on how we're doing there in November 06, not before. All the administration has to do is to make sure a balanced story gets reported over here.
My major disagreement with the essay is with election fraud. With motor-voter and all the "absentee" and early voting allowed now, with the lack of authentication required of voters when voting, and with the possibility of electronic tampering, there is more opportunity for fraud than ever. And Dems are better at that then Repubs can dream of being.