Cornered Rats

I've had several conversations in Comments here and elsewhere regarding the turning point that the release and, if not rejection, then ignoring, of the ISG's report may prove to be. I'm no fan of the group nor its report but both have the appearance of being main stream, non-partisan, and adult (in the non-childish sense). To see the petulant Boy George respond with his dismissive "whatever" attitude, really does isolate him and his shrinking band of increasingly extreme enablers and further denies them any semblance of reflecting mainstream public opinion.

I was discussing this topic with my daughter this afternoon about why GWB deserved to be impeached when she asked: But he never will get impeached, will he? I replied that it wasn't very likely right now but things are trending strongly in that direction. So it is with morbid fascination that I watch the downward spiral of BushCo and it was that feeling that caused this post by TPM Reader DW to resonate with me.

As students of politics, the next two years are going to be fascinating. Bush is never good under pressure and in the wake of the ISG Report Bush is completely floundering, and he has nothing to buoy him anymore. Bush never really stands on his own so much as he attacks others instead, but that dog won't hunt anymore.

The Congressional Republicans are literally rats fleeing the sinking ship. And although this started before the election, it is now like a tidal wave. Bush's people will come out with their self-serving reports which will meet with bipartisan scorn and only make the situation worse for Bush with him desperately clinging to that nonsense while Baghdad burns.

He and Cheney are completely alone now. We are going to see approval polls in Nixon territory probably by Feb. We are looking at historic lows and how will the DC world react?

I look for the White House to be surrounded by sandbags and barbed wire by spring with Bush and Cheney holed up inside like Howard Hughes.

When have we ever seen anything like this?

It's like the proverbial car crash. I know I shouldn't stare, but I can't look away.

Josh Marshall observes:

This sounds about right to me. Add to this the fact that Bush's reaction to the ISG report now appears to be to find an outside gaggle of whack-jobs who will attack it and let the president off the hook -- so either the neocons themselves, which is most likely, or some equivalent group of nutbars. Believe me, the ISG report isn't gospel. And it's even pretty lame on some counts. But when clinical [sic] won't accept deeply flawed [sic], you know the meds have yet to take effect.