The Economist: The White House feels the heat

In its May 5th issue, the Economist has a reasonably balanced piece on the battle between congressional Democrats and the administration over war funding. The bottom line acccording to the Economist: "It is surely right to wait until September, as the general [Petraeus] asks, before passing judgment."

On the way to that conclusion, the Economist argues that congressional Democrats received "a convincing mandate" for ending the war in the last election. But Democrats have a paper-thin margin in the Senate (2 percent) and a thicker but still thin margin in the House (7 percent.) Surely a mandate requires much larger margins.

Further, the Economist suggests that the presidential candidacy of Chuck Hagel could start a "stampede" of Republicans away from Bush, a suggestion that is laughable, as is Hagel's potential candidacy.