Thinking Long Term

This from OpinionJournal tells us not to worry about Bush's poll numbers ( or if you're liberal, get all excited):

Think long-term. There are two major actions Bush made in his first term: toppling Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq and cutting taxes. The Iraqi people, for all the horrible things that are still happening there, are progressing very nicely, including passing a constitution, just a couple of years after the war. That is a major success story, and somewhat unprecedented in history. Meanwhile, the economy has been running so well that nobody even brought it up for a while until the hurricanes hit--and yet gross domestic product rose at a 3.8% annualized rate anyway. Mr. Bush is, wisely, sticking to his guns and refusing to raise taxes to make up the losses, as taxes would not solve the problem, only exacerbate it.

I especially agree on the comment about Iraq. This is a great success story and seems to be having repurcussions the world over. Thats why you hear so much noise from evil dictators like Chavez, and from Iran, and North Korea. These guys are shaking in their boots with failed economies and faltering influence (except in the Old Media). Finally:

If--and this is not a small if--the people and politicians of this country can support the president, and if Mr. Bush himself can refocus his energies on doing what is in the best interests of this country for the long term, rather than trying to broker compromises that serve nobody's interests, this country will be far better off.

Amen!