Tom Daschle, man of principle,

Tom Daschle, man of principle, saw these poll results and decided to schedule a quick vote on Iraq. The Democrats had three reasons for this change in strategy: 1) The USA/CNN/Gallup Poll indicated that a large majority of the country is rallying behind the President’s Iraq policy; a substantial majority also believed the Democrats’ effort to delay a vote was politically motivated. 2) Several key Democratic Senate candidates, including Tim Johnson and Paul Wellstone, were being blasted for their failure to support the President. 3) The Democrats calculate that if they cry “uncle” on Iraq, hold the vote quickly and vote to support President Bush, there is still enough time for them to get back to talking about domestic issues before November. My only other observation on these poll data is that President Bush’s approval rating is back up to 70%. The American public’s enduring confidence in the President, in the face of constant sniping in the press, is remarkable.