Regression & the Comfort of Happier Days

Here's a great piece by Ron Fournier in the Washington Post about the President seeking refuge in past victories:

In his strongest defense yet of his Iraq war policies, Bush quoted Kerry as saying he voted to give the president approval to wage war because weapons of mass destruction in the hands of Saddam Hussein would be a grave threat.

During the presidential campaign, Bush loved to quote Kerry stumbling over conflicting statements on Iraq, such as when the Democrat tried to explain his position on a Bush-backed war spending bill. "I actually did vote for his $87 billion, before I voted against it," Kerry said at the time.

Still, it's highly unusual for a re-elected president to go after his fallen rival. It shows just how grim things are for Bush. Two crucial pillars of his presidency _ perceptions of his honesty and faith in his ability to fight terrorism _ have crumbled. An AP-Ipsos poll shows that almost six in 10 Americans say Bush is not honest, and a similar amount disapprove of his handling of the war on terrorism.