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NEW YORK, July 26: With US soldiers being killed in Iraq almost every day, President Bush’s re-election manager for next year’s elections warned on Saturday the elections would be tough for the Republicans.
Ken Mehlman, who heads the Republican National Committee (RNC) for re-election of the president, said Mr Bush’s ratings would decline gradually.
“These numbers will come down. We must prepare for an election every bit as close as the 2000 election,” Mr Mehlman warned RNC members as they met in New York.
Mr Mehlman observed that President Bush’s stature had been hurt by the ailing economy, the rising death toll of US troops in Iraq and questions about the administration’s use of intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq.
He forecast a close fight for the presidency. The Bush campaign repeatedly makes this point, both to energize members and to minimize political fallout if his job approval rating declines.
COLUMNIST: David Broder, a veteran Washington Post columnist considered to be a barometer of conventional wisdom, writes that “the shadow of defeat” is crossing President Bush’s “political horizon”.
In a column recently, Mr Broder — regarded as the dean of American political punditry — offered a bleak picture of Mr Bush’s re-election chances.
He spelled out grim ramifications for the Bush administration because of the handling of the Iraqi weapons issue and the ailing economy.
