Dana Milbank and The Note both bring up essentially the same point I made in my previous post:

"When Bush won the disputed presidential election while losing the popular vote," Milbank reminds us, "expectations in both parties were that his $1.6 trillion tax cut was dead on arrival. But Bush demanded it all — and got 85 percent of it."

"When world opinion this summer appeared inalterably opposed to Bush's view on Iraq, Bush demanded U.N. Security Council support — and got it unanimously, with few concessions."

"With history working against him and political sages saying he had no 'coattails,' Bush plunged himself and his reputation into the midterm congressional elections — and scored an unexpected victory."

"Democrats warn that Bush's in-your-face tactic ultimately will backfire … But that has not happened, and Bush aides say there is no such danger."

The M.O. of the Bushies is plain for anyone intelligent enough to recognize it: 1. Demand the moon. 2. Never compromise one bit. 3. Until, that is, it looks like you might lose. Then, make as many small compromises as are necessary to get past the temporary patch where it looks like you might lose. 4. When the policy is eventually written in stone, act like it is exactly what you were always asking for and declare complete and total victory. 5. Rinse...Repeat Many in the media and in the Democratic leadership have been consisently expecting him to opperate under the more concilliatory pattern they are used to. They took him at his word when he spouted all that nonsense about being "bi-partisan". The real question is whether the media and the Democrats will ever wise up to what is going on in this country. Or will they continue to give Shrub the benefit of the doubt over and over and over again.