December 12, 2006
Help Us Pres. Bush, You're Our Only Hope?
One of the more fascinating ideas about what the WH should do re: Iraq comes from the always-thinking-about-retiring GOP consultant Mike Murphy. In a L.A. Times op-ed today, Murphy advises Pres. Bush to expand his war cabinet to include Dems, specifically the incoming Senate/House cmte heads of Armed Services and Intelligence. Murphy contends the country (and Bush) desperately needs to find some bipartisan solution on Iraq.
But what makes this op-ed facinating is not what Murphy writes but what he doesn't write. Murphy is a one-time political aide to both John McCain and Mitt Romney, two of the three frontrunners for the WH '08 GOP nod. And his op-ed seems to scream, "PRES. BUSH, STOP IRAQ FROM BEING A 'REPUBLICAN WAR'!" The op-ed doesn't specifically say this, but the message is implied. There are many GOP strategists who worry that if Iraq is still the major issue in '08 and Iraq is still viewed as Bush's war (translation: the GOP's war), it won't matter who either party nominates for president, the GOP will be in an unwinnable situation. The fact is, no matter how unpopular Bush is right now, the GOP desperately needs him to pivot on Iraq and find a way out or the entire party will pay one more time in '08. [CHUCK TODD]
Posted at 04:28 PM
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