Bush's War Causes a Growing Rift on the Right

An article by David D. Kirkpatrick this a.m. in the New York Times probes a growing split among conservatives over the Iraqi War, with traditional conservatives like Pat Buchanan and direct-mail guru Richard Viguerie growing more disenchanted by the second with Bush's War while the neoconservatives continue to preach the virtues of preemption.

"I cant think of any other issue that has divided conservatives as much as this issue in my political lifetime," Mr. Viguerie said. Recent events, he said, "call into question how conservatives see the White House. It doesn't look like the White House is as astute as we thought they were."

They thought the "White House" was astute but not necessarily the president. The "White House," as a collective noun, includes most prominently V.P. Dick Cheney, a neoconservative drum-beater.

"Considered descendants of a group of mostly Jewish intellectuals who switched from the political left to the right at the height of the cold war, the neoconservatives are defined largely by their conviction that American military power can be a force for good in the world .... [As] a group [they are] closely identified with Paul D. Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense, and William Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard."

For traditional conservatives, the Iraq War is also a matter of money. A BIG matter.

Just more of the mess Bush has made of things ... and this the inside mess he's made among his own political troops.