Four years on, war costs Bush at home and abroad

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N16437636.htm

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - Four years after he began the Iraq war, a diminished President George W. Bush has sacrificed much of his domestic agenda and eroded U.S. credibility abroad in pursuit of the sort of nation-building he once scorned, analysts say.

The president's job approval ratings have fallen from 90 percent shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks to just over 30 percent.

He forfeited the dream of cementing Republican control over Congress and his administration is increasingly under fire from Democrats and Republicans alike.

"There is simply no question in my mind that the Iraq war has substantially undercut Bush's ability to get other things done domestically or internationally," said Richard Eichenberg, a professor at Tufts University who has studied Bush's approval ratings.

"When he was re-elected in the fall of 2004 he interpreted the election ... by saying that 'I have political capital. I'm going to spend it.' But the fact of the matter is he's spent it all on Iraq and he's got precious little left," Eichenberg said.

[Vincardog]

1. Be careful what you wish for DimSon. He wanted it he got / HIS WAR

[NNN0LHI]

2. It was all high fives for them after the 2004 elections and Mission Accomplished

Now they are all headed to jail.

Don

[blues90]

3. Bush never cared about domestic or international stability

He commited himself a war president long before 2000 . This was the mission at all costs and still is his mission .