Woodward Suggests Iraq Now A Crisis, And Bush May Have To Seek Coalition
--written from San Carlos, California
Bob Woodward on the Larry King show the other night called the Iraq war a crisis, and suggested that after the Mid-Term election President Bush may have to bring the Democrats into his government as a kind of coalition.
It is an arresting idea, one of many from the famed Washington Post writer, who, after years of backing the President now seems deeply disillusioned.
As Woodward spoke out, a new poll shown on NBC Nightly News indicated that between the Foley scandal abd the Woodward book, the Democrats have taken a major jump in the polls, with 46% saying they support Democrats for Congress and only 32% Republicans. Bush's numbers have sunk to 39% favorable, after mounting slightly the previous month.
All indications are that this is going to be a big Democratic year, very possibly a sweep of 10 of the most contested Senate elections and control over both the House and Senate. As Woodward points out, this would confront the President with an entirely new situation. In order to maintain even a semblance of support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he probably would indeed have to reach out to the Democrats, assuming they were reachable.
But they might be, since it's also plain there is no Democratic consensus on what to do about Iraq. Many who are not favorable to the war, still hesitate to simply withdraw American troops and leave it to the terrorists.
--
Sad news comes today of one of the death of one of the most illustrious of the New York Times reporters, R.W. Apple, whose political, foreign affairs and food writing graced the paper for many years. Apple was an indefatigable reporter for decades, something of a dove in foreign affairs, always conscientious and liberal enough to give even those he thought questionable their due. Toward the end of his life, he was a distinguished food writer, traveling the world in search of unusually fine restaurants and exotic foods. It is hard to believe he is gone. Just Sunday, Apple was in the New York Times with an article on the foods of Singapore. He will certainly be missed throughout the journalistic world.
--
An anonymous commentator to this blog is bitterly critical of New York Times travel writer Joe Sharkey, who narrowly escaped death in a collision of airplanes over the Brazilian jungle. In fact, contrary to what the commentator says, the crash was not at all the fault of Sharkey from everything we know about it, and this man or woman has carried antipathy to Sharkey, an excellent reporter, much too far. I personally admire Sharkey.
Bob Woodward on the Larry King show the other night called the Iraq war a crisis, and suggested that after the Mid-Term election President Bush may have to bring the Democrats into his government as a kind of coalition.
It is an arresting idea, one of many from the famed Washington Post writer, who, after years of backing the President now seems deeply disillusioned.
As Woodward spoke out, a new poll shown on NBC Nightly News indicated that between the Foley scandal abd the Woodward book, the Democrats have taken a major jump in the polls, with 46% saying they support Democrats for Congress and only 32% Republicans. Bush's numbers have sunk to 39% favorable, after mounting slightly the previous month.
All indications are that this is going to be a big Democratic year, very possibly a sweep of 10 of the most contested Senate elections and control over both the House and Senate. As Woodward points out, this would confront the President with an entirely new situation. In order to maintain even a semblance of support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he probably would indeed have to reach out to the Democrats, assuming they were reachable.
But they might be, since it's also plain there is no Democratic consensus on what to do about Iraq. Many who are not favorable to the war, still hesitate to simply withdraw American troops and leave it to the terrorists.
--
Sad news comes today of one of the death of one of the most illustrious of the New York Times reporters, R.W. Apple, whose political, foreign affairs and food writing graced the paper for many years. Apple was an indefatigable reporter for decades, something of a dove in foreign affairs, always conscientious and liberal enough to give even those he thought questionable their due. Toward the end of his life, he was a distinguished food writer, traveling the world in search of unusually fine restaurants and exotic foods. It is hard to believe he is gone. Just Sunday, Apple was in the New York Times with an article on the foods of Singapore. He will certainly be missed throughout the journalistic world.
--
An anonymous commentator to this blog is bitterly critical of New York Times travel writer Joe Sharkey, who narrowly escaped death in a collision of airplanes over the Brazilian jungle. In fact, contrary to what the commentator says, the crash was not at all the fault of Sharkey from everything we know about it, and this man or woman has carried antipathy to Sharkey, an excellent reporter, much too far. I personally admire Sharkey.
Labels: Iraq
posted by Ken Reich at 4:51 PM
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