Bush defies public opinion, Democrats on Iraq troops

[cal04]

President George W. Bush bucked public opinion and the new Democratic Congress with a high-stakes gamble on more U.S. troops in Iraq, setting up a bruising political fight that could sink his fellow Republicans.

Barely two months after a resounding Democratic election victory seen as a rejection of his Iraq policy, Bush upped the ante in a televised address by ordering 21,500 more troops to Iraq rather than pulling back on the U.S. commitment.

In his Wednesday speech Bush appeared to focus on history more than American politics, analysts said, making an audacious and perhaps final stab at turning around an increasingly unpopular war that will define his legacy as president.

"We are seeing a president defying public opinion in a way that no modern president has," said Bruce Buchanan, a political analyst at the University of Texas and a longtime Bush watcher.

(snip)
"Obviously there is tremendous skepticism in the public about where this policy is going, and Republicans will be the ones to pay any price," said Andrew Taylor, a political analyst at North Carolina State University.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N10345473.htm

[lancdem]

1. He's defying public opinion

because he's a messianic lunatic.