Bush accuses Democrats of lacking Iraq plan

STATESBORO – Weakened by the unpopular Iraq war, President George W Bush accused Democrats of lacking a plan to win it on Monday as he opened a weeklong drive to maintain Republican control of the US Congress.

“The Democratic goal is to get out of Iraq. The Republican goal is to win in Iraq,” Bush told a rally in a gymnasium at Georgia Southern University.Bush planned to travel every day but one until the November 7 elections, swooping into regions where races are tight and where a presidential visit aimed at drawing Republican loyalists to the voting booths might make a difference.”This election is far from over,” Bush said.With polls showing voters far more inclined to vote for Democrats this year, Bush argued that it was the right decision to oust Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq despite the bloody insurgency that sprang up after the US invasion.Accused by Democrats of refusing to budge from a stay-the-course policy, Bush insisted his commanders have the flexibility needed to adjust to enemy tactics and said the only way not to succeed is “to leave before the job is done.””If you listen carefully for a Democrat plan for success, they don’t have one.Iraq is the central front in the war on terror, yet they don’t have a plan for victory,” he said.Dispatching the president was a calculation by the White House that Bush can help deliver votes despite a job approval rating below 40 per cent and deep dissatisfaction with his handling of the war in Iraq, where the death toll among US troops on Monday passed 100 for October alone.Nampa-ReutersThe Republican goal is to win in Iraq,” Bush told a rally in a gymnasium at Georgia Southern University.Bush planned to travel every day but one until the November 7 elections, swooping into regions where races are tight and where a presidential visit aimed at drawing Republican loyalists to the voting booths might make a difference.”This election is far from over,” Bush said.With polls showing voters far more inclined to vote for Democrats this year, Bush argued that it was the right decision to oust Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq despite the bloody insurgency that sprang up after the US invasion.Accused by Democrats of refusing to budge from a stay-the-course policy, Bush insisted his commanders have the flexibility needed to adjust to enemy tactics and said the only way not to succeed is “to leave before the job is done.””If you listen carefully for a Democrat plan for success, they don’t have one.Iraq is the central front in the war on terror, yet they don’t have a plan for victory,” he said.Dispatching the president was a calculation by the White House that Bush can help deliver votes despite a job approval rating below 40 per cent and deep dissatisfaction with his handling of the war in Iraq, where the death toll among US troops on Monday passed 100 for October alone.Nampa-Reuters