Reuters: Clarke Charges on Bush Seem to Have Sticking Power

[darknemus]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House may have mishandled accusations leveled by their former counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke by attacking his credibility, keeping the controversy firmly in the headlines into a second week, political analysts said.

(snip)

Polls have shown that 90 percent of U.S. voters were following the issue and that it was beginning to hurt Bush. A Newsweek poll released on Sunday found that 57 percent of voters approved of the way he had handled terrorism and homeland security, down from 70 percent two months ago.

(snip)

Republican political consultant Scott Reed said the administration had succeeded in discrediting Clarke's motives to some extent. But the issue of Rice testifying was continuing to hurt the White House since many Americans wanted to hear what she had to say.

"It's hurting Bush politically," he said.

(snip)

Overall, I think the article is an excellent read and makes the very direct point that this isn't going away anytime soon.

Link: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=4689886&pageNumber=0

-darknemus