Clouding the second term

Yep:

"Unless we get Iraq straightened out, and quick, anything else we try is futile," said a senior White House aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid stepping on the president's inaugural message.

While, as some on the right argue, Iraq will be Bush's great legacy to the world, it's not going to do him lickspittle worth of good if it doesn't turn that way soon. Public perception is that things are getting to that "quagmire" state, and there is no real end is sight. The goalposts of the election in ten days have been moved back. The election will go on, but no one really expects it to change a thing. Because in case you have doubts, the insurgents are in it for the long haul:

An audio tape purportedly from al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has urged militants to prepare for a lengthy holy war against U.S.-led forces in Iraq, saying victory could take months and years.

Free advice: Bush needs to figure out a way to convince America that a battle on the other side of the world is the way to secure us, and fast. The rhetoric and speeches he's given, and the talk of schools and freedom simply aren't carrying the weight he wants them to except with his most ardent supporters. Realistically, we are stuck there for the long haul as well.

Do I have answers? No. I wish I could help. Success in Iraq is one of those non-partisan issues at this point. The real arguments arise when you think of all the potential wasted by Bush's lack of foresight and what it is we settle for now in order to get out. The arguments over whether the war was justified or not at this point are pretty moot.

But because of poor choices and decisions already made, I have little faith that Bush will figure out a way to get us out of their soon, or to get the public back behind his already costly war. I wish it weren't the case, but I have seen next to nothing to make me hopeful otherwise. And in growing numbers, the American people have seen nothing either.