I think we could see a replay of the first Bush admisnistration. With a 90% approval rating after the successful Desert Storm he went on to lose the election to Bill Clinton. The war was won and forgotten and the country faced a recession largely brought about by Bush’s tax increase and the hideously failed luxury tax.

Republicans abandoned him because of his betrayal of his “no new taxes” pledge. Clinton’s handlers succesfully played the “It’s the economy stupid” political strategy. Ross Perot succeeded in sucking enough pissed off Republicans to hand the vote to Clinton, who we should be reminded received less than 50% of the vote. It was largely a case of Republican suicide.

The surge in Iraq is working. Even Obama admits it and even tries to take some credit for it. Even Murtha admits it. But the success in Iraq may fare bad for the Republican’s because that only places more focus on the economy, which may be teetering on the verge of a recession.

Success is knowing what worked yesterday.

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