JOE GANDELMAN looks at Republican pundits deserting Bush, which does seem to be a phenomenon. Bush — who, as I’ve said before, has always been politically weak, just stronger than Kerry or Gore — is in the “sweet spot” on the war, fighting hard enough to anger the antiwar folks but not hard enough to please the prowar folks. This might argue that Bush is getting it right, but I suspect not. If you’re going to fight a war, you should probably fight it full bore or not at all, raising the troubling possibility that both sets of critics are right simultaneously. But perhaps a nuanced approach is called for.

On the other hand, the Hotline Blog suggests that Bush-bashing has gone too far, asking, “What’s next, blaming Bush for ATM fees?”

UPDATE: Ron Coleman has had some related thoughts on waging war. So does Josh Trevino. They don’t agree, though.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Related thoughts here.