King in the Land of Make-Believe

George W. Bush was a lame-duck, destined to be one-term president right at the start of his first term. Then 19 hijackers and Osama bin Laden gave him a second chance. A 90% approval rating for just being there when we were attacked was perplexing.
Since before the election of 2004, Bushs poll number have been under 50%. Bush ecked out the smallest win in US history and got a chance to send this country further down the spiral.
In the past few months, Bush has been a steady in the mid 30's in most polls and the polls that had him higher have since fell into line.
In a NY Daily News article, Peter King divorces himself from reality and is quoted as saying "The President's view still represents 51% of the country... If we get some stability in Iraq, he can definitely come back."

51%? Really? Bush hasn't seen the number 51 in a very long time. Here are some recent "Job Approval" numbers.....

Newsweek: 3/16-17/06 Approve 36 Disapprove 58 Unsure 6
Gallup: 3/13-16/06 Approve 37 Disapprove 59 Unsure 5
FOX/Opinion Dynamics RV: 3/14-15/06 Approve 39 Disapprove 51 Unsure 11
NPR LV: 3/12-14/06 - Approve 39 Disapprove 58 Unsure 3
NBC/Wall Street Journal: 3/10-13/06 - Approve 37 Disapprove 58 Unsure 5
CNN/USA Today/Gallup: 3/10-12/06 - Approve 36 Disapprove 60 Unsure 4
CBS :3/9-12/06 - Approve 34 Disapprove 57 Unsure 9
Pew :3/8-12/06 - Approve 33 Disapprove 57 Unsure 10
AP-Ipsos: 3/6-8/06 - Approve 37 Disapprove 60
ABC/Washington Post: 3/2-5/06 - Approve 41 Disapprove 58 Unsure 1

When it comes to Iraq, Bush's approval numbers are in the 30's or worse and on the terrorism issue, Bush is sliding into the low 40's. On energy policy he's in the 20's. And when asked about the direction of the country, it's overwhelmingly bad for Bush.

It's not just Iraq that is pulling Bush down, but every aspect of the horrible job he is doing. And does King really see a turn-around in Iraq coming any time soon? Take a look at the former Yugoslavia and what happend after Titos death. Yugoslavia was composed of different ethnic groups that were barely held together by a strongman. The Yugoslav Presidency Council which was comprised of the different regional/ethnic factions began to disintergrate, Milošević started exerting Serbian nationalism and the country fell apart under the weight of ethnic wars.
Iraq is not one country. It is a land with different religious and ethnic factions like the Sunni, the Shi'a and the Kurds. Don't expect them to get along nicely too soon. The Kurds suffered under Saddams Sunni rule. Civil war in Iraq is a reality.

Sadly the brave men and women of our armed forces are stuck in the middle of this.