It's been a long time coming and, of course, it;'s totally self-serving but that doesn't diminish the importance of this headline:
"Cheney admits was wrong about "last throes" in Iraq
Tue Jul 31, 2007 7:25PM EDT"
Does this signal a real change of course? An attempt to save the dying GOP's national party status?
Not really....
He said the Bush administration would still send troops into Iraq if it could do it all over again, even knowing what it knows now, including that more than 3,000 U.S. military personnel would be killed.
"I firmly believe," Cheney said, "that the decisions we've made with respect to Iraq and Afghanistan have been absolutely the sound ones in terms of the overall strategy."
But Cheney made clear he no longer held to a May 2005 assessment, widely mocked by political satirists and Democratic politicians, in which he said, "I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."
Maybe the GOP's finally worrying about it's political survival. Maybe they've seen this [Warning PDF].
The political stakes with this generation could not be higher. In 2008, young people (ages 18-31) will number 50 million, bigger than the baby boom generation. By 2015 they will
likely comprise one-third of the U.S. electorate. While participation among young people still lags well behind other generations, turnout increased two election cycles in a row and, in 2004, jumped nine points (to 49 percent).2 In 2004, younger voters were the only generational cohort outside of the World War II generation to support John Kerry (56 percent). In 2006, younger voters supported Democrats by a 60 – 38 percent margin, the highest of any generation.3
The looming disaster Republicans face among younger voters represents a setback that could haunt them for many generations to come. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama lead Rudy Giuliani —the most acceptable of the Republican offerings among youth—by significant margins, assembling a diverse coalition of support and leading the vote among independents.4 Exploring attitudes toward the parties themselves, young voters’ reaction to fundamental issues
and their perceptions of the GOP suggest a fundamental alienation from the Republican Party, a crisis that will not leave with the Bush administration.
Young people react with hostility to the Republicans on almost every measure and Republicans and younger voters disagree on almost every major issue of the day. The range of the issue disagreements range from the most prominent issues of the day (Iraq, immigration) to burning social issues (gay marriage, abortion) to fundamental ideological disagreements over the size and scope of government. This leaves both potential Democratic nominees with substantial leads over Rudy Giuliani, but importantly, both Democrats still have room to grow their support among younger voters. The current problems with the Republican brand are not fully reflected in young people’s preferences in for President.
Maybe it was this:
If the Congressional Election were held today, 46% of American voters say they would currently vote for the Democrat in their district while 37% would pull the voting lever for a Republican. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found 4% favoring a third-party option while 13% are not sure. A month ago, the Democrats enjoyed a 12-point advantage. Two months ago, it was the Democrats by seven.
Support for the Democrats has remained very steady, ranging from 45% to 47% in each of the past five months. Over the same period of time, support for Republicans has ranged from 34% to 38%. Rasmussen Reports updates the Generic Congressional Ballot on a monthly basis. The Presidential Tracking Poll is updated daily.
Who knows what KKKarl or Cheney is smoking but then again who cares?
All I care about is that they now (finally) see...and smell...and feel The End is upon them.