Bush Hates Republicans--II

You have to wonder why President Bush and VP Dick Cheney hate the Republican Party so much. Today, David Kurtz of TPM argues that the Bush administration is spinning out the surge in such a way that there still be 150,000 American troops in Iraq when Bush and Cheney leave office in January 2009. In other words, the Bush/Cheney end game is to keep the war going at all costs even though they know longer believe they'll achieve any strategic goals. Kurtz concludes by quoting a TPM reader as claiming that Bush and Cheney will then be "spin [the Iraq invasion] for all it's worth the rest of their lives."

Of course, there is a sense in which that would be a "victory" for President Bush. He would have been able to keep the war going despite pressure from a Democratic Congress and public opinion and he could say that he "stood strong" although his only purpose in "standing strong" was to "stand strong."

But it's a recipe for disaster for the Republican Party in 2008 and beyond and George Bush has enough political sense to know it. Disapproval for the war and support for mandatory withdrawal deadlines are over 60%, Republicans are nervous about the 2008 election, and dissatisfied with the current group of GOP presidential candidates. By pushing the surge out through November 2008 and forcing GOP candidates to pledge allegiance to the Iraq War, Bush is practically guaranteeing a Democratic landslide.

Which makes you wonder what he has against the Republican Party.