GOP to Bush: the party is pooped

The White House wishes to portray Tuesday's session with House Republicans as limited support for Bush's Iraq efforts.

The Republican moderates told him that if things didn't shape up by fall, the party would bolt him. They told him he was death to the party, that constituents were totally fed up and ticked off.

They told him they'd support some sort of Iraq war fund bill for now but, if the mideast situation didn't shape up fast, even that support would end. They certainly conveyed the thought to him that he had better beware too hasty a use of the veto pen.

They may have been terribly polite, but clearly the Republicans all would have been very happy had Bush and Cheney agreed to resign by sundown tomorrow.

Bush is facing a rough road now. If he's too veto-happy, there will be a showdown between the White House and the Democrats over who is pulling the rug out from under our troops. This then may well leave the Dems with little option but to move to impeach, though such an action would throw a monkey-wrench into Democratic presidential ambitions. However, the argument will be made that sometimes the good of the country really should come before personal ambition.

If the Democrats move to impeach, there is a strong likelihood of considerable GOP support.

Of course, newspapers aren't running "Resign now" editorials because either they are quietly betting on Clinton, Edwards or Obama, or they, like Murdoch, are fighting a rearguard action for the neocons.

Yet a recent poll has disclosed that nearly 60 percent of Americans favor Congress immediately cutting off war funds.