Demagogue

Hmmmm...

A new poll from the LA Times finds that the American public's support for the war in Iraq has dropped to an all-time low. By a margin of 56-39, the poll's respondents thought that America's problems with Iraq were "not worth going to war over." Those who believed that invading Iraq had "stabilized the situation in the Middle East" were outnumbered nearly two to one by those who thought the opposite, and only 29 percent of those surveyed believed the U.S. was "winning the war." A plurality of 47 percent agreed with the statement that "the invasion of Iraq has alienated many in the Muslim world, which will increase the risk of terrorism against the United States."
...
"'We are seeing lower support for the war, but I would have expected it to be even lower, given that the main rationale for the war -- the weapons of mass destruction -- turned out not to be there,' said John Mueller, a political scientist at Ohio State University who is an authority on wartime public opinion.

"'Support for this war [in Iraq] is now lower than support for the Vietnam War was at the Tet offensive,' Mueller said, citing the 1968 battles that were a turning point in U.S. public opinion then. 'But in Vietnam [after Tet], the war continued for several years, and many people continued to support it through enormous casualties.'"

Meanwhile, many Americans think the president's $40 million inaugural bash is tacky. A full 75 percent said that "because of the costs of the war in Iraq and the tsunami disaster in Asia," the Bush administration should scale back the celebration.

As for what the inaugurational events means for DC residents and workers-- a subject I've been kvetching about all week-- this clip from Salon puts it in nice perspective.

The Republicans have begun to flood into the nation's capitol for what they're calling W2, and so far it seems that the hotels and bars are the prime beneficiaries. It's certainly not the people of the District. They're the ones who will be stuck with the road closures, the intense security and a big chunk of the bill for it all. Among the hardest hit of District residents: the homeless, who will find many of the services they need curtailed because charitable groups can't get through the security barriers erected downtown.

Such concerns seemed a million miles away inside the bar at the Ritz-Carlton Tuesday night, where the first waves of well-heeled Republicans gathered for inauguration-themed drinks and $25 cigars. Braced against outdoor temperatures in the teens, GOP women from near and far -- mostly far -- wore so much fur that entire species of critters must be dead somewhere. A big bowl of Ohio buckeyes sat on a table near the front door, a symbol, the sign said, of the "good luck" Bush enjoyed when he won that state. The residents of Washington should be so lucky.