No, seriously-- we want the Democrats to take charge

Although that elusive new White House strategy on Iraq still dominates the blogs, the only piece of real news is that nothing's changed. The Iraq Study Group is-- a week after releasing their much-anticipated report-- totally irrelevant. The word is that Bush is ready to increase the number of American troops in Iraq by about 15%. The nation still hates the war, but John McCain and Joe Lieberman still love it. (An extremist viewpoint supported by two guys who campaign-- for the White House-- on centrism and common sense.)

Unfortunately, Bush only knows one trick-- selling stubbornness as leadership. And not even Republicans are buying anymore.

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows Americans have grown more pessimistic after the Iraq Study Group report that the situation there has become "dire." That contributed to Mr. Bush's lowest-ever approval rating in the Journal/NBC poll -- 34% -- and turned Americans toward his Democratic adversaries. By 59% to 21%, Americans say Congress rather than Mr. Bush should take the lead in setting policy for the nation. Nearly a year ago, when Republicans controlled Congress, Americans wanted Capitol Hill to take the lead, 49% to 25% over Mr. Bush. (. . .)

The results show "a presidency that's been whittled down to its ultimate core," adds Mr. Hart's Republican counterpart, Bill McInturff, as even three in 10 Republicans want Congress to lead on national policy. The telephone survey of 1,006 adults, conducted Dec. 8 to Dec. 11, carries a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

Mr. Bush's lost standing has ramifications across the political landscape. Seven in 10 say they want the new Congress to pressure the White House to begin bringing troops home within six months.