Are Republicans Drinking Bush's Iraq Kool-Aid?

If you click on the link in this entry's title you can see the results of the recent CBS-New York Times poll on Bush's handling of the Iraq War. Overall 24% of those responding approved of his handling of Iraq, 71% disapproved, and 5% had no opinion. Inside the party breakdown, however, the results are much different. Among Democrats the approve/disapprove breakdown is 5%-93%; among independents it is 19%-74% but among Republicans it is 58%-34%. Clearly the rank and file of the Republican Party has drunk the Iraqi Kool-Aid that Bush has put out for them.

These figures are also why it is so hard for Congressional Republicans to break ranks and support the Democrats' plan on the war. If they do, they risk being opposed in contested primaries. If they don't, however, they risk being defeated in the 2008 general election. (Click here to see what happens to those who start warning others about drinking Bush's dangerous brew.)

Of course this is creating a very bad environment for Republicans. The L.A. Times referred to the present political environment as "toxic" for Republicans in this article. Well, it is a poison of their own making and we don't feel the least bit sorry for them. Our sympathy is for the families of the dead and wounded who served in this war.