[mikeus_maximus]

The poll numbers are laregly not about the war. For the liberal 30%, that's the biggest issue. For the rest of us, it's the open borders and wastrel spending. That's the thing about Jorge- he gives everybody a reason to dislike his administration.

[George W. Bush]

For the rest of us, it's the open borders and wastrel spending.

Much as I hate to admit it, actually I think they can get away with the LBJ-would-blush spending. People only grumble about that.

But the borders/illegals is more like Harriet or Brownie/FEMA or Dubai. And it's not just the base. It's a lot of the conservative political press. What I find interesting is that the conservative pundits are already telling them they'd better give in on the borders/amnesty thing before it's too late. See Sowell, National Review, etc.

The illegals thing makes a visceral connection with people on a whole range of other issues. No two conservatives formulate the same way but they are all fixated on one solution: close the borders, deport the illegals, then consider a proper immigration policy.