GOP Insiders Worry That Libby Verdict Weakens Bush More

Republican insiders are deeply worried about the Scooter Libby verdict's political impact -- especially when combined with the rash of other bad news that has erupted recently concerning the Iraq war.

"In spite of President Bush's happy talk abut the progress in Iraq," says a prominent GOP leader with close ties to congressional Republicans, "this is one more minus for the president." Bad as it is, Libby's conviction for perjury and obstructing justice in the Valerie Plame/CIA leak case wouldn't be so devastating if it were taken alone, the insiders say.

But yesterday's verdict came at a very bad time for Bush, when several other negative stories are percolating. "It reminds everybody that we went to war without finding any weapons of mass destruction," says a GOP strategist.

"More of our soldiers are being killed in Iraq, including nine on a single day this week, along with many Iraqis. There is a full fledged investigation of Walter Reed and Veterans' Administration hospitals. All this spells a continuing deterioration of the president's position."

What the insiders are most worried about, in a political sense, is that Americans and members of Congress will stitch all these developments together and conclude that Bush has shown bad judgment and a lack of management ability -- undermining his credibility even further and emboldening his critics to challenge him on Capitol Hill across the board.

By Kenneth T. Walsh