Heckuva a job, Mr. President!

The Bush administration's balancing act over the next few months promises to provide much entertainment and fascination. As public support for the war in Iraq continues to erode, the White House will seek to step down the U.S. military presence, and most especially the U.S. casualties, in time for the worst bruises to fade before the election this coming November. Having failed in Iraq to deliver on his administration's promises to establish a secular democracy, protect women and minorities, build up the nation, increase regional security, stabilize the oil supply, contain neighboring Iran, and capture the top al-Qaeda leaders, we citizens will be told to content ourselves with a 'victory' that consists of little more than removing Saddam Hussein from power and getting our ground forces out of harm's way (even as we shift the burden of battle to the Air Force).

Since he has made the Iraq expedition the centerpiece of his presidency and has pinned his hopes for his legacy on it, Bush will have to scramble to provide other talking points for his party's members in Congress to use in their campaigns next fall. And no matter how the election comes out, our suffering country -- and the rest of the world as well -- will somehow have to endure two more years of a presidency whose credibility among all but his fanatic base has already suffered grave wounds and whose intransigence about global warming and human rights will compromise the future for us all.