Worries about Iraq, politicians grow

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

But the violence in Iraq has continued, before and after the latest round of elections in mid-December. And high-profile politicians in this country have been ensnared by scandal.

When people were asked in an open-ended question to name the nation's top problem, 25 percent named war, close to the level in October, but up from 19 percent in July. The number of people who named political leaders as the most important problem has almost tripled, from 5 percent in July to 14 percent as the new year starts.

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I've also read that Bush lost his recent "amazing" five percent bump in the polls and is now back in the thirties. I must admit that it's pretty weird for the general public to be catching up with where the left has been for several years now. The article seems to be trying to frame this shifting of priorities as being a function of an improved economy, but I don't buy it: wages are stagnant during this "recovery," jobs are still lagging way behind where they ought to be by now, and lack of access to health care continues to force middle income families into bankruptcy. No, this shift in public opinion has nothing to do with the so-called "improving" economy. Rather, people are starting to see the writing on the wall. Iraq rages on with no end in sight, and it's more clear than ever that our reasons for being there are totally bogus. The Abramoff scandal, the DeLay scandal, the NSA scandal, the CIA leak scandal, and all the bullshit associated with them make it obvious that we are being led by a pack of crooks and liars; remember all the trouble Kerry got into back in '04 for getting caught on tape calling the Bush administration a bunch of criminals? Turns out he was absolutely right, and it's not just Republicans in the White House, either. And now people are starting to figure it all out. Cool.

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