Iraq & Terrorism
Peter Beinart's take on the linkage between Iraq and terrrorism is well worth investigating. No, he's not looking into the linkage between Iraq and al Qaeda, but rather the political issues themselves. Clearly, Bush has long desired that Iraq be viewed as part of the war on terror. But for the most part, much of the polling since invasion showed that while Bush earned high marks for his treatment of terrorism, his job in Iraq was found lacking over time. That difference, it seems, has come to an end, as Beinart lists the ABC/Washington Post polling that has Bush's terrorism grade falling. As Beinart suggests, this might be due to voters finally tying the two issues together, but in a way that bogs down terrorism rather than boosts Iraq.
I think its tougher to call than Beinart suggests, although if it holds up it'd be hard to argue otherwise. Another tricky aspect of this is the view of Iraq that matters with voters. Will any recurring difficulties still be seen as our responsibility, or does Bush get a little bit of leeway with the handoff in power? Time will tell and till it does, the jury is still out. That the numbers have some movement in them, rather than an intractable stagnance, has to be a bit unnerving (currently for Bush, but these things can change).