I have argued recently (Warrentless Searches II) that, whatever the legal or constitutional merits may be, the politics of the "domestic spying" question favors the Bush Administration. Kausfiles explains why.
Charlie Cook (in his weekly email) has identified the person responsible for Bush's bounceback. It's the same figure credited by J.Po a few weeks ago. But Cook puts the case with exceptional clarity:
While few, if any, would question the right of Rep. John Murtha ... to call for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq, or say he was acting for reasons of political expediency rather than principle, in retrospect, his move might have been strategically helpful to the president.
Prior to Murtha's well-publicized speech advocating an early withdrawal, the spotlight had been on the Bush administration's use of intelligence that led to the decision to go to war, with some questioning whether the administration either lied, fabricated or exaggerated evidence used to justify the United States' action.
Murtha's speech changed the debate, away from whether we should have invaded Iraq and whether the use of intelligence to make that decision was flawed toward the more problematic issue of "what do we do now?" [Emph. added]
Mickey Kaus's blog reads like a Hollywood chat sheet, treating politics as if it were one more entertainment medium. The result of this appallingly frivolous approach is a continuous flow of insights into how and what is actually happening in the political world. The above hits the nail on the head. Bush clearly gained back about ten points in the polls, depending on which poll you pay attention to. More from Kaus:
So that's what he's been doing: One reason the warrantless eavesdropping controversy may help, rather than hurt, Bush in the polls has more to do with the character of his administration than popular support for eavesdropping. In particular, Bush's tendency to hide behind a carapace of formal, not-completely-apposite justifications (e.g. "we must recognize Iraq as the central front in our war on terror") leads voters to ask what is really going on behind the facade. The Katrina botch suggested not much--maybe Bush, as the left-wing caricatures always suggested, really was out to lunch, playing computer golf in the Oval Office while various Michael Brownian cronies held meetings to plan their wardrobes. That's why, if the Bushies have really had the energy to secretly do all sorts of illegal spying against terrorists, it's almost reassuring. At least they've been on the case, doing their job as they see it. The more thorough and secret the eavesdropping, the more reassuring on this score. ... 1:05 P.M. link
UPDATE:
Powerline has some info on how this issue is playing in Peoria.
Sixty-four percent (64%) of Americans believe the National Security Agency (NSA) should be allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that just 23% disagree.
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