Bush's magical thinking

In Bush's last press conference, we saw the bedraggled president he has become—defensive, doctrinaire, scattershot, and either deceptive or delusional.Iraq has dominated his agenda for four years now, yet he still sees the conflict through a prism rife with cliché. The topper, which he has recited several times before, is that if we fail in Iraq, the terrorists will follow us home. He uttered a few variations of the line in his latest press conference: "If we were to fail, they'd come and get us. … If we let up, we'll be attacked. … It's better to fight them there than here."Clearly, this is nonsense. First, the vast majority of the insurgents have nothing to do with al-Qaida or its ideology. They're combatants in a sectarian conflict for power in Iraq, and they have neither the means nor the desire to threaten North America. Second, to the extent that the true global terrorists could attack us at home, they could do so whether or not U.S. troops stay or win in Iraq. The one issue has nothing to do with the other.

I think he may be loosing his grip on reality. Its more than just spin - its a breakdown of logic. Recently Bush said that the American people agree with him on Iraq. He said we are not satisfied with conditions in Iraq and want him to find a new way to "win". There is no poll that supports that conclusion. The public opinion is overwhelming in favor (62%, last I looked) of leaving Iraq.

Bush has now lost his last shred of credibility.