Very good article "How the Bush administration got spooked" check it out.

[passy]

DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
How the Bush administration got spooked
By Tom Engelhardt

It's finally Wizard of Oz time in America. You know - that moment when the curtains are pulled back, the fearsome-looking wizard wreathed in all that billowing smoke turns out to be some pitiful little guy, and everybody looks around sheepishly, wondering why they acted as they did for so long.

snip

But instead of watching the Democrats fall silent under assault as they have for years, they unexpectedly found themselves facing a roiling oppositional hubbub threatening the unity of their own congressional party. In his sudden, heartfelt attack on Bush administration Iraq plans ("a flawed policy wrapped in illusion") and his call for a six-month timetable for American troop withdrawal, Democratic congressional hawk John Murtha took on the Republicans over their attacks more directly than any mainstream Democrat has ever done.

snip

Soon after, before hurricane Cindy could even blow out of town, hurricane Katrina blew in and the president's ratings headed for free fall. In just the last month, they look as if they had been shoved over a small cliff, dipping in the latest Harris and Wall Street Journal polls to an almost unheard of 34% (only five points above Richard Nixon's at his Watergate nadir).

snip

more at http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GK22Ak01.html

[WiseButAngrySara]

1. Tres good passy! I enjoyed the read and TU for the post. ...n/t

[lyonn]

2. I just love the Wizard of Oz analogy, perfect!! nt

[warrens]

3. I just read that at a link from www.wn.com: EXCELLENT

Man, nothing is going right for the unelected Punk...breaks my heart.

[passy]

17. Thanks for the link too wn.com looks like a good site.

[LeftCoast]

4. Great article! Thanks for posting it!

:thumbsup:

[autorank]

5. Passy, you're the best! Thanks for sharing in the holiday spirit. REC.

:hi:

This is worth savoring and I will do that later tonight.

Thanks for posting.

[passy]

8. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

It's bound to make your day a little better.

[passy]

6. kick

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

7. Thank you Passy...Very good read.....more..

SNIP:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GK22Ak01.html
"The stunning swiftness of the bipartisan Congressional collapse of support for the administration's conduct of the war in Iraq, and by extension the entire anti-terrorism effort, is such that it has not been fully appreciated by the 'leadership' of either party. That's the real meaning of a Senate vote, which Republicans tried to spin into a victory for the president, because they avoided the Democrat's amendment to set performance-based withdrawal deadlines."

Now, the war threatens to crack open the Republican base and chase the dream of a single-party Republican political future - only recently so close - right off the map. No wonder the Democrats have just come out swinging (sort of). The political shock and awe the administration so regularly deployed after September 11, 2001 no longer works. The Democrats suddenly have discovered that - no thanks to them - the American people are somewhere else and they have little to fear from George Bush or Dick Cheney. No presidential "counterattack", no "lashing out", no set of speeches or new agenda (to be announced in the 2006 State of the Union Address or anywhere else) is likely to change any of this for the better for this president. Fear is no longer on the Bush administration's side. No wonder they're now afraid - very, very afraid.

[enough]

9. A great summation of where we are now.

Excellent article. Worth reading every word.

One snip>

Whatever the overlapping motivations, at the heart of this policy lay an urge to unleash a constitutionally unfettered "war president" on the world. (Torture was a crucial issue in all of this largely because, once established as an essential tool of the "war on terror", it would be proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bush's presidency had been freed of all restraints.) Put into full effect on March 20, 2003, when the "war on terror" melded into an invasion of Iraq, the policy was meant to place in the president's hands every global lever of power that mattered for all time.

snip>

[corbett]

10. Thanks!! Here's Another Wonderful URL

http://www.republicansforhumility.com

[Gelliebeans]

11. I agree it was a good article. K&R.

[upi402]

12. Murtha got SPINE -moremoremoremoremore MORE!

:patriot:

[NightOwwl]

13. Long read, but worth it.

"Fear is no longer on the Bush administration's side. No wonder they're now afraid - very, very afraid."

[passy]

14. kick

[BlueIris]

15. Respectfully...I gotta disagree a little that we have nothing to fear

from Bush, et al. I'm quite optimistic myself, because I simply don't feel that the neo-cons have the power to pull of the remainder of the PNAC agenda with this president (more because of the loss of their base than anything else) but I wonder what would happen if the other shoe dropped now. Some of you know what I'm talking about. It's the kind of wild card I think Bush just might try to throw out there, as a last ditch effort to hold onto power. No, there wouldn't be anything substantial to gain from it long-term, considering what the consequences would be if he or Cheney actually crossed THAT line, but then again...there were never going to be many long-term gains for them or anyone. That was never the point. Not saying you should walk around panicking, but I do think everyone should, as always, be prepared.

[Iowa]

16. Well worth the read! Nominated. n/t

Edited to add: My signature image below certainly doesn't apply to this article.

[autorank]

18. KICK