Bush's Bin Laden Craving

"In his remarks, Bush argued that U.S. successes against al-Qaeda and other extremists in Iraq have played a role in the growing violence in Afghanistan."

But, as Eggen writes: "Brian Jenkins, a terrorism expert at the Rand Corp., said Bush's characterization of Afghanistan is oversimplified and ignores evidence that the Taliban and its al-Qaeda allies regained strength there because the U.S. military was focused on Iraq. . . .

"Kathleen Hicks, a former Pentagon policy planner and now a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, called the renewed emphasis on Afghanistan 'surreal.' . . .

"'We're having a bit of a back-to-the-future effect,' said Hicks, who left the Defense Department in 2006. 'We've gone back to a point in their minds where Iraq is sort of a back-burner issue to some extent and Afghanistan is, like in 2001, the front-burner issue.'"

And Michael Abramowitz writes in The Washington Post: "The Coalition of the Willing appears to be going out of business.

"President Bush tucked a little extra news yesterday into a speech largely devoted to informing the public that he plans to withdraw 8,000 more troops from Iraq: He also announced that most of the countries that have been partnering with the United States in Iraq over the past five years will be pulling their troops out as well."

The New York Times editorial board writes: "President Bush is nothing if not consistent. In a speech on Tuesday, he made it clear that he has no plan at all for ending the war in Iraq and no serious plan for winning the war in Afghanistan."

Deficit Watch

Lori Montgomery writes in The Washington Post: "A weak economy and a sharp increase in government spending will drive the federal budget deficit to a near-record $407 billion when the budget year ends later this month, and the next president is likely to face a shortfall in January of well over $500 billion, congressional budget analysts said yesterday.

"A deficit of that magnitude could severely constrain the next administration's agenda. . . .

"This year's deficit will be more than double last year's $161 billion, and it will rise from 1.2 percent of the gross domestic product to nearly 3 percent. . . .

"The budget picture is likely to grow even bleaker once government analysts factor in the anticipated costs of the Treasury Department's decision last weekend to take over struggling mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."

Decline Watch

Joby Warrick and Walter Pincus write in The Washington Post: "An intelligence forecast being prepared for the next president on future global risks envisions a steady decline in U.S. dominance in the coming decades, as the world is reshaped by globalization, battered by climate change, and destabilized by regional upheavals over shortages of food, water and energy.

"The report, previewed in a speech by Thomas Fingar, the U.S. intelligence community's top analyst, also concludes that the one key area of continued U.S. superiority -- military power -- will 'be the least significant' asset in the increasingly competitive world of the future, because 'nobody is going to attack us with massive conventional force.' . . .

"'The U.S. will remain the preeminent power, but that American dominance will be much diminished,' Fingar said, according to a transcript of the Thursday speech. He saw U.S. leadership eroding 'at an accelerating pace' in 'political, economic and arguably, cultural arenas.'"

The Bush Issue

The September/October issue of Mother Jones-- the one about how to recover from eight years of Bush -- is now online. Among the highlights:

Nick Baumann and Dave Gilson offer up "Bush's Reign of Error: A Timeline."

Stephanie Mencimer lists Bush's "six worst judicial appointments."

David Cole writes about "Bush and Cheney's insults to the Constitution."

And in a special section on How to Fix America, Philippe Sands writes: "I asked former President Jimmy Carter what he thinks the next US president might have to do in his first 100 days. He said it would take 10 minutes, not 100 days. I can do no better than paraphrase his reply: 'My country will never again torture a prisoner. We will never again attack another country unless our security is directly threatened. Human rights will be the foundation of our foreign policy. We will act on global warming. We will honor international agreements. We will bring security and peace to Israel and all its neighbors and treat them all on an equal basis.'"

Poll Watch

Johanna Neuman blogs for the Los Angeles Times that while Bush's approval ratings continue to hover around the dismal 30 percent mark, a pollster.com survey finds his disapproval rating has dropped from the mid to low 60s in the last few months. The most likely cause? Fewer people are paying attention.

Charles Franklin, co-developer of pollster.com, writes in an e-mail to Neuman: "Attention turned to the primaries in January, and the rock 'em sock 'em action there pulled political focus away from the White House. . . . Over the summer and now, the attention is almost all on Obama and McCain (and now Palin!) so again the president gets little attention."

Who Better?

Simon and Schuster yesterday published "We the People: The Story of Our Constitution," a new children's book by Lynne Cheney. It's just in time for Constitution Day!

Live Online

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Late Night Humor

Jay Leno, via U.S. News: "Well, as you all know, President Bush was not at the Republican convention due to a disaster -- his presidency."

Cartoon Watch

Mike Luckovich on Bush's Afghanistan plan, David Fitzsimmons on the ghost of 9/11, and David Horsey on bin Laden's celebration.