An endless round of criticism from the RW media, talk radio,Fox News, the Washington Times, and the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, as well as foot dragging and obstruction from congressional republicans led by Boehner and McConnell.
The attacks will be basically on two fronts one foreshadowed by Kristol's editorial in today's NY Times "The Next War President"
http://www.nytimes.com/...
But I don’t think keeping us safe has been Bush’s most impressive achievement. That was winning the war in Iraq, and in particular, his refusal to accept defeat when so many counseled him to do so in late 2006. His ordering the surge of troops to Iraq in January 2007 was an act of personal courage and of presidential leadership. The results have benefited both Iraq and the United States. And the outcome in Iraq is a remarkable gift to the incoming president, who now only has to sustain success, rather than trying to deal with the consequences in the region and around the world of a humiliating withdrawal and a devastating defeat.
Does anyone believe this war is "won"? Nothing has been settled in Iraq. We still have an army occupying the country at great expense. A temporary lull in hostilities does not indicate victory anymore than a cease fire in Gaza. The whole point of Kristol's editorial and noises I've heard him and others make on their weekly round of Sunday talk show is to lay the groundwork for blaming the Obama administration for "losing" the war in Iraq that bush had already "won".
On the congressional front Boehner and McConnell can be expected to stand in the way of any spending program geared to help the average guy in America. Their newfound role as budget "hawks" will allow them to stand in the way of Progress. They never met a pork barrel project or deficit they didn't like while bush was king but now they will be simply outrage by government debt.