It's no secret that this Democratic-led Congress has accomplished little since January--especially in terms of their campaign promises to withdraw from Iraq as quickly as possible.
Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris report just how dismal things look for the Congressional Democrats today in the Politico:
Since taking the majority, they have forced 40 votes on bills limiting President Bush's war policy.
Only one of those has passed both chambers, even though both are run by Democrats. That one was vetoed by Bush.
Indeed, the only war legislation enacted during this Congress has been to give the president exactly what he wants, and exactly what he has had for the past five years: more money, with no limitations.
Disapproval of the Democratic majority in Congress has risen steadily, albeit with no corresponding increase in enthusiasm for Republicans.
Even more notably, public opinion about the war--while still dominated by opposition to a military adventure most people think was a mistake--has risen modestly in recent weeks, according to several nonpartisan polls.
Congressional Democrats thought they could carry their party to the White House in 2008--but may now have more difficulty than they thought in November 2006. Manu Raju at The Hill speaks the truth: "Even though Democrats this year have pushed through an increase in the minimum wage, the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, an ethics overhaul and a bill to lower student loans, Congress's approval ratings are at historic lows."
Why so low, Pelosi? Bloggers give many reasons.
Gabriel at Ace of Spades spells it out for the leadership: "They forgot (1) they do not have an overwhelming majority in Congress or among the public; (2) Congress does not directly control war policy; (3) the Iraq War wasn't lost yet; and (4) Republicans, including President Bush, weren't just going to give up."
Blue Crab Boulevard agrees: "They invested heavily in an American defeat, insisting the war was lost and insisting troops had to come home, then were unable to change direction. Then a funny thing happened. American troops did begin turning things around in Iraq with General Petraeus' new strategies."
Mary Katharine Ham adds, "Turns out, the public is upset about the war, but doesn't necessarily desire the precipitous loss there that Democrats want. Turns out, the public is upset about the war, but its outlook is affected by progress on the ground."
This may cause just a few problems for Pelosi and her colleagues, says California Conservative: "She knows that she can't argue against the anti-war crowd because they're prolific fundraisers, which is important because she wants to stay Speaker...she's between Iraq and a hard place."
Prairie Pundit concludes, "Winning through weakness and wimpiness seems to be the Democrat strategy for success. It is hard to think of any historic examples where it has worked."
And it isn't likely to work in Iraq either.
