According to a USA Today/Gallup poll, Iraq is the most important issue in the midterm elections. 35 percent of Americans polled said the war is going badly, and 58 percent said the invasion of Iraq was a mistake. The poll shows that over three fourths of those holding that view intend to support the Democrats for Congress. Hopefully, this means curtains for the Republicans who currently have control over Congress. Democrats need 15 seats in the House and 6 in the Senate to regain control. The poll also said that 52 percent of Americans believe the Iraq War has made America less safe.

Putting out ads once again to frighten Americans into voting conservative, Republican congressmen seem to be just as panicked as their congressional pages. This last Sunday, the party put out an advertisement with clips of Osama bin Laden and other members of al-Qaeda making threats against America. As Keith Olbermann pointed out, bin Laden has effectively become the spokesperson for the GOP. The sound of a ticking bomb is heard in the background until the commercial ends with footage of an expanding mushroom cloud.

A Washington Post-ABC poll also showed that time is running out for the Republican get the vote out machine. The survey revealed independent voters, a key bloc, lining up solidly with the Democrats. Independents say they plan to support Democratic candidates over Republicans by roughly two to one (59% to 31%) - the largest margin in any Washington Post-ABC poll this year.

Again, Iraq is hitting the Republicans, with only one third of independent voters saying the conflict is worth fighting. A month before the 2004 presidential election, when Mr Bush won a second term, independents were almost evenly split. Apart from being critical of the president, independent voters said congressional Republicans deserved to take a “great deal” or a “good amount” of the blame for the situation in Iraq.

Voters in general, are siding with the Democrats across a range of issues. In fact, the confidence of the Democratic Party is so high that they’re even putting money into contests which were once safe Republican seats. Meanwhile, a New York Times editorial said Rumsfeld’s strategy may become “the worst foreign policy debacle in American history”, calling for Bush to replace him.

In my opinion, this is much more than just the case of one bad apple. The entire tree is diseased, and it’s time to chop it down. Some don’t believe the Democrats will be much better, and in most cases of foreign policy I would probably agree. However, in this case I just can’t see how anyone could be worse than the GOP. Luckily for the Democrats, there’s only one way to go when you hit rock bottom.

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