Bush will bounce back

The above headline reads like something from the Weekly Standard, but alas it's my headline.

Americanlogic thinks Bush will once again climb the mountain of the polls and reach above 40% approval. There are several factors that will lead to this.

One, the opposition party. The war in Iraq has done quite a number of things, but the one thing its done is fracture the Democratic party even more. Plenty of blame to go around on this one. Sheepish senators like Clinton and Kerry voted to give the president authorization to go to war, foolishly thinking he was going to do everything in his power to avoid it. They also seemed to reject american precedent which states we do not attack or invade other countries without provocation. Now, they are stuck. The Murtha plan is the best course but once again the party refuses to get behind this GIGANTIC hawk and show themselves as an opposition party. I'm sure one could imagine a triumphant Bush speaking for a newly elected Iraqi parliment this spring or summer. Media translation: We won.

Speaking of the Media. They love Bush, even when he's down. In contrast, they hated Clinton, even when he was up. There is something in the way Bush carries himself that makes the talking head pundits swoon. From Peggy Noonan's steadfast look every time she talks about Bush to Chris Matthews swaying in the political winds, Bush is popular amongst this crew. They show us what a shithole Iraq is every night but can't bring themselves to actually blame the president as if he was a bystander. The common scapegoats of the Iraq war: Rumsfeld and Cheney. Granted, both are certainly not blameless, but who made the decision?

And finally, America. Bush is stubborn just like we are. Bush finds it impossible to admit fault or error. We do the same thing. Bush has so successfully fused together Iraq and 9/11 that most people will use them in the same sentence, even when presented with insurmountable evidence to the contrary. America also fails to explore the idea of terrorism, just like Bush. Bush chooses to use storybook language ("terrorists lurk").

So, in the end it may not matter what happens on the ground in Iraq. Bush has succeeded in being the ultimate politician, just a lousy president.