Centerfield

I'm still quite proud NOT to have voted for him.

But I think this visit was a very smart calculated risk, especially coming so close on the heels of slaying Zarquawi. It looks very bad for al quaeda, making their post-zarquawi-slaying comments seem like hollow posturing, at least for the time being. Perception IS only perception, but it matters quite a bit to the type of battle AQ is trying to conduct.

Of course, Bush can't win with his opponents on this matter. If he doesn't visit, it's "If Iraq isn't in such bad shape, why won't Bush go there" and if he does go, it can be spun variously as foolhardy, unnecessarily provocative, to no good end, etc.

I've got a little premonition that tells me public opinion on the war is going to start to tick up over the next few months absent a signature catastrophe. But I don't think my premonitions have a better track record than my guesses. I should probably listen to my cynical side, which says that public opinion will continue to inversely correlate with gas prices.

I share your premonition, Brian, mostly because I think the President's approval ratings have historically gone up when he is seen in public, actively defending and promoting his actions. His ratings go down when he bunkers down in the White House on the defensive. He's decided it's time to start fighting back again (witness the hiring of Tony Snow), so approval ratings will go up. Just in time for mid-terms? Boy, that would be some coincidence, huh?

And politics aside, it really does take some stones to fly into Baghdad on a helicopter. I have tremendous admiration for all of those who do it, most especially the guys and gals who do it every single day.

I bet that's one flight the boys at Baghdad Int'l security searched quite throughly indeed before anyone was allowed to re-board the aircraft.

Zarqawi's destruction (and the largely unreported but considerable damage to the jihadi and insurgent networks that has followed it) gives the new Iraqi government a window for some very positive movement.

Perception may be only perception, but the insurgents depend on the media for all their real victories. They can't win on the battlefield, only in public perception.

I still have buyer's remorse, but it's a good move and an appropriate one, IMO.

Damn you, bk! You stole my opening line.

For all my misgivings about the guy, this is kind of thing that reminds me of why I used to say, "I wouldn't vote for him, but I wouldn't mind hanging out with him." (If he weren't a former alcoholic, it would be "have a beer with him.")

Re: the search, I'm picturing a tightly guarded room containing every object allowed back onto the helicopter, including articles of clothing. Everyone going on the flight enters naked, not even a wristwatch, to dress and get all their gear before boarding. After that, they walk single file to the chopper down the middle of a 40 foot aisle formed by two lines of tighly spaced, heavily armed guards on either side. No one gets within 20 feet of any of them.

I do agree that it's a great move, for reasons of both personal PR and public morale, but it doesn't exactly make me regret not voting for him.

Oh, and although I didn't vote for him, and I have major policy disagreements with him, I've never had any animus against him. So I have no problem saying "Not bad, sir. Not bad at all."

So did he land on an aircraft carrier with a "Mission Accomplished" banner already hanging?

To a partisan, it's a brave morale booster for the toops. To a critic, it's a cynical photo op for domestic consumption that drew security forces away from actual work. Ho hum.

Bush is irrelevant. The future is what happens after him, and it's already begun.

Im not a partisan or a critic, but an objective. This is a brave morale booster for the troops and a photo-op, it is also a sign that the USA is behind the Iraqi people 100% and that we support the government. Even though they are instituting Sharia law in the way Afganistan and Saudi Arabia have.

In my humble opinion (and mind you, it's only MY OPINION and should not be ridiculed if you don't agree with it, as some are prone to do on this site) is that the President went to Iraq not for political gain (what gain would he have? he can't run again and the underlings who are running this Fall need to make their own cases if they're true to themselves) but rather because I think he is a person who truely cares about the boys and girls out there fighting for democracy. I really think the man is sincere and does care about these kids.

For this, I say, "good job sir".