Even Republicans are abandoning Bush over his failed Iraq policies -- and his stubborn refusal to change the course

No wonder Hill Republicans are freaking out. They must be reading the polls. Even average Republicans are opposing Bush's stubborn refusal to change the course in Iraq. But, those Senate Republicans keep obstructing every effort to find a new policy anyway. Their loyalty to Bush outweighs everything:

President Bush faces growing disenchantment in his own party on the war in Iraq, with most Republicans -- his customarily loyal base -- now saying he's not willing enough to change his war policies. Discontent runs so deep that six in 10 Americans would shift control of the war to Congress.

Overall, an overwhelming 78 percent of Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say Bush is not willing enough to change his stance on the war, up from 66 percent last December. The biggest movement is among Republicans; 55 percent say the president is not willing enough to alter his Iraq polices, up 16 points.

This probably also explains why Bush has started talking -- and lying -- about Al Qaeda again. However, these days when Bush talks about Al Qaeda, he's basically advertising his failed anti-terror policy. Almost six years ago, Bush told us he'd defeat the terror network that attacked the U.S. Now, the real Al Qaeda is reconstituted while Bush -- with help from his GOP allies on Capitol Hill -- has us stuck in the Iraq quagmire. That same quagmire is what made the real Al Qaeda stronger. And, by real Al Qaeda, I mean the Al Qaeda that attacked the U.S., the one that is getting stronger in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's the real Al Qaeda, not the one Bush created in Iraq. His speech today was another desperate, pathetic attempt to spin the war.