I have a gut instinct: both Rummy and Meyers will both get support from Bush before the election, but once that is over they both will be canned.

This man is making a disgrace out of the military, and this abuse scandal has set back any work the coalition has done in Iraq in the past year.

http://newyorker.com/printable/?fact/040524fa_fact

Unless Osama is found (and maybe not even then) I can't see how Bush can possibly be re-elected with a mid-40% approval rating. The polls show that no one is paying attention to the economic boom, currently in its beginning stages. The situation in Iraq is not going to realistically improve all that much between now and November, and the press is going to eat it up when violence continues through the symbolic transfer of soverignty. And it is pretty sad that Bush is refraining from real military reform all because he wants to be viewed as this "steady" war time leader.

For once, I agree with you.

Zogby ran a story last week saying this election was suddenly Kerry's to lose. He has withstood the heavy attacks from Rove and Co. and has held ground very well. I am inclined to believe that Bush is in a very bad spot, probably the worst ever for a sitting president.

With the handover looming, coalition troops leaving Iraq and the economy not strong enough to sustain any swing upward, it will be tough to get that 42 percent approval rating past 50 percent in the next six months.

That story is interesting because it refers to disagreements between the CIA and the Department of Defense, vaguely alluding to factionalism within the U.S. intelligence community. Is there some reading--books preferred over articles--that you guys can point me to that would give me a better idea of the historical rivalry between the Pentagon, CIA, and FBI?

Originally posted by tweedyburd
The polls show that no one is paying attention to the economic boom, currently in its beginning stages.Why would they? The media prefers to show Kerry and Finestein and others talking about how "poor" the economy is and how high gas prices are.

haha, economic boom. i hope you mean boom in a bad way.

Originally posted by Nimrod's Son
Why would they? The media prefers to show Kerry and Finestein and others talking about how "poor" the economy is and how high gas prices are.

Damn straight.

it doesn't matter how good the economy is if it costs you $4000 to full up the Hummer.

Equation.

Republicans say war against dirty Arabs
Democrats say peace against dirty Arabs
Oil leaders are dirty Arabs
Oil price goes up
US public say boo.
Dubya gets kicked out of office.
Kerry pulls out of Iraq
Oil leaders drop price.

Originally posted by Enzed
Kerry pulls out of Iraq

Not likely.