Subject: Working Together for the Good of the Country: Larry, when the Democrats took over Congress, President Bush stated that he would work cooperatively with them. With the war looming over both branches of government, each side is falling once again into their ideological positions. After trying to pass a bill that would set a timeline for withdrawing troops, Congress is now passing a bill that just reflects "public impatience with the pace of progress in Iraq." Although forms of this bill have been passed in Congress many times, the president refuses to sign one. Right now, Democratic Congress looks as though it is trying its best to cooperate with the president to get legislation done smoothly, rather than the president putting in much effort — inverting the roles each branch assumed at the beginning of this year. JJ

RESPONSE: While 70% of those who define themselves as Republicans continue to support the war and Bush and the leading contenders in the Republican Party all support the continuation of the war even when questioning the conduct of the war by Bush...the American people as a whole have seen that Bush is a liar and uses words like 'compassionate conservative' or 'bringing democracy' to the Middle East as cover for actions that often move in the opposite direction of the stated word marketing to the American public.

It was recently reported that half of Americans continue to believe that there was some kind of linkage between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein. The explanation given was that at every opportunity the Bush administration mentions terror and Saddam, or 9/11 and Saddam, or al Qaeda and Saddam...implying a linkage that the facts simply don't sustain. And for those who get their news form right wing talk radio of Fox News, there is little interest in setting the record straight...Saddam had no connection to 9/11 or al Qadea.