Again with the attacks

Now, Cheney is bringing 'em on against Bush's critics.

Vice President Dick Cheney added his voice on Wednesday to the chorus of Republican criticism of Democrats who have accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence on Iraq, calling it "one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city."

"Some of the most irresponsible comments have, of course, come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing force against Saddam Hussein," Cheney said in remarks prepared for a GOP fundraiser.

Cheney's attack was part of a GOP effort to push back against criticism on Iraq.

I can't figure out if Bush and his minions think this venomous onslaught will actually reverse his slide or if they are just mean bastards who enjoy attacking people.

What on earth could be the strategy here? Are they trying to convince people who do not trust them that they are not, in fact, murderous liars? Remember, it is not just the conduct of the war or his management of the economy causing Bush's positives to plummet and his negatives to rise. The majority of Americans now consider Bush to be dishonest and untrustworthy. They think he deliberately misled the nation into war. He thinks he is attacking those who disagree with him and he is right. The problem is, that group consists of the majority of the American population. Does he hope to convince us that our opinions of him amount to disloyalty to our country?

Does Bush imagine that, having lost our trust, he can now say "trust me?" Perhaps, but I am beginning to think that he simply does not know any other way to cope with adversity. His plan for a possible U.S. outbreak of bird flu was instructive: send in the Marines. Quarantine at gunpoint. I think the man really does not know any way except literal or rhetorical violence to response to being challenged. Someone comes at you, knock him down and stomp on him until he can't get up again. Have your friends help you. The more boots, the better.

The practice worked against John McCain in South Carolina. It worked against Democrats after 9/11, although they can hardly be said to have challenged him in any substantive way at all. It worked against John Kerry in 2004. Can Bush think it will work again now that his enemy is public opinion itself?

I cannot wait to see the next round of polling results. I suspect that, rather than restoring Bush's credibility, this ugliness will send him sliding to new depths.