On right, faith in Bush wavers

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Aug 21, 2006

On right, faith in Bush wavers
Former allies -- now critics -- put White House on defense

Peter Baker, The Washington Post

These have been tough days politically for President Bush, what with his poll numbers mired in the 30s and Republican candidates distancing themselves. He can no longer even rely as much on once-friendly voices in the conservative media to stand by his side as some columnists and television commentators lose faith in his leadership and lose heart in the war in Iraq.

While most conservative media figures have not abandoned Bush, increasingly often opinion-makers have raised questions, expressed doubts or attacked the president outright, particularly on foreign policy.

"Conservatives for a long time were in protective mode, wanting to emphasize the progress in Iraq to contrast what they felt was an unfair attack on the war by the Democrats and media and other sources," Rich Lowry, editor of the National Review, said in an interview. "But there's more of a sense now that things are on a downward trajectory and more of a willingness to acknowledge it and pressure the administration to react to it."

Lowry's magazine offers a powerful example. "It is time to say it unequivocally: We are winning in Iraq," Lowry wrote in April 2005, chastising those who disagreed. This month, he published an editorial that concluded that "success in Iraq seems more out of reach than it has at any time since the initial invasion three years ago" and assailed "the administration's on-again-off-again approach to Iraq."


http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/477392.html

[renate]

1. BTW, I thought the first paragraph of this piece was interesting too

I'd heard about the "Is Bush an Idiot?" caption on Scarborough's show, but I thought it was only up for a few seconds, not 10 whole minutes. Wow.