A Welcome Distraction

Asked "which president showed the greatest political courage -- meaning being brave enough to make the right decisions for the country, even if it jeopardized his popularity -- more respondents volunteered Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton (18 percent each) than any other president. Fourteen percent of adults named John F. Kennedy and 10 percent said Abraham Lincoln. Only four percent mentioned George W. Bush. (Then again, only five percent volunteered Franklin Roosevelt and only three percent said George Washington.)

"A majority of Americans believe Bush is not politically courageous: 55 percent vs. 40 percent. And nearly two out of three Americans (62 percent) believe his recent actions in Iraq show he is 'stubborn and unwilling to admit his mistakes,' compared to 30 percent who say Bush's actions demonstrate that he is 'willing to take political risks to do what's right.'"

Bush's Iraq Legacy

Warren P. Strobel writes for McClatchy Newspapers: "The four years since President Bush declared 'Mission Accomplished' have been a legacy of missed opportunities, ineffectual plans, surges and course corrections that have always been too late, too late or both, critics say. . . .

"With 20 months left in Bush's term, his Iraq policy may be at its final crossroads, with little time to show progress and big questions on several fronts."

Benedict Carey writes in the New York Times: "The detailed mental health survey of troops in Iraq released by the Pentagon on Friday highlights a growing worry for the United States as it struggles to bring order to Baghdad: the high level of combat stress suffered during lengthy and repeated tours.

"The fourth in a continuing series, the report suggested that extended tours and multiple deployments, among other policy decisions, could escalate anger and increase the likelihood that soldiers or marines lash out at civilians, or defy military ethics.

"That is no small concern since the United States' counterinsurgency doctrine emphasizes the importance of winning the trust and support of the local population. . . .

"The survey of 1,320 soldiers and 447 marines was conducted in August and September of 2006. The military's report, which drew on that survey as well as interviews with commanders and focus groups, found that longer deployments increased the risk of psychological problems; that the levels of mental problems was highest -- some 30 percent -- among troops involved in close combat; that more than a third of troops endorsed torture in certain situations; and that most would not turn in fellow service members for mistreating a civilian."

GOP Timetables

Jim Tankersley writes in Saturday's Chicago Tribune: "President Bush appears poised to win months more of funding for troops in Iraq. But if conditions don't improve there by fall, he could lose support from a battalion of congressional Republicans.

"Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, while still debating details, say they are likely to pass a bill that would tie war spending to a set of benchmarks for Iraq's progress but no deadlines for troop withdrawal, which caused Bush to veto a funding bill this week. They would then address the war in other debates this summer and let political pressure mount on the GOP.

"'This is going to be a step-by-step process, continuing to isolate' the president, said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), the House Democratic Caucus chairman. 'The key to that is to basically get Republicans who say, "We're not going to do this anymore." '

"Privately and publicly, some House Republicans and their staff say defections could come as early as September, when Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of American troops in Iraq, returns to brief Congress on the progress of Bush's 'troop surge' of nearly 30,000 to quell insurgent fighters."