Coalition Of The Unwilling

He's obstinate as hell, if nothing else. ABCNews (07.23.07), via AmericaBlog:

"Overall, an overwhelming 78 percent of Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say Bush is not willing enough to change his stance on the war, up from 66 percent last December. The biggest movement is among Republicans; 55 percent say the president is not willing enough to alter his Iraq polices, up 16 points."

Bush Seen as Unwilling to Change Course; Most Would Shift War Control to Congress

By a 2 to 1 margin, John and Jane Q. Public also think that "Congress, not the president, should have final say on when the troops come home."

Then again, he has his instructions. Washington Post (06.27.03), via Eschaton:

"Imagine our surprise Wednesday to read in the Israeli paper Haaretz (online), that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Abu Mazen, meeting recently with militants to enlist their support for a truce with Israel, said that, when they met in Aqaba, President Bush had told him this: 'God told me to strike at al Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam [Hussein], which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them.'

So who needs to find WMD or a link with al Qaeda when the orders come from The Highest Authority?"

Road Map in the Back Seat?

"Two calls to the White House for clarification went unreturned, but colleague Glenn Kessler did some digging. The Haaretz reporter, Arnon Regular, read what the paper said were minutes of the Palestinians' meeting to Kessler and another colleague, who is an Arabic speaker."

"The Arabic-speaking colleague's translation, was this: 'God inspired me to hit al Qaeda, and so I hit it. And I had the inspiration to hit Saddam, and so I hit him. Now I am determined to solve the Middle East problem if you help. Otherwise the elections will come and I will be wrapped up with them.'"

Oh boy.