The past week's events in Iraq and in Washington not only sharpened public attention on a war now more than 3 years old but also foreshadowed the partisan split on its conduct that is likely to play out in the fall congressional elections.
President Bush, bolstered by the death of al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, made a surprise visit to Baghdad Tuesday to show support for the newly installed Iraqi government and its prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki.

On that same day, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who lost the 2004 election to Bush, renewed his call to bring U.S. troops home by the end of the year.

"It is essential to acknowledge that the war itself was a mistake," he said.

Bush returned from Iraq on Wednesday and quickly held a news conference to reiterate his opposition to setting any timetables for withdrawal, stating again that conditions on the ground will dictate if and when troops can start coming home.

"One message that I will continue to send to the enemy is, don't count on us leaving before the (mission) is complete," he said. "Don't bet on American politics forcing my hand, because it's not going to happen."

To be sure, Republicans and Democrats, whether they be in Congress or at home, are sharply divided on the war: Polls show most Republicans basically support President Bush's conduct of the ongoing conflict. Most Democrats do not.

A June 9-11 USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found that 70 percent of Republicans approve of Bush's conduct of the war, compared to only 11 percent of Democrats.

While there are some disagreements on Iraq within the ranks of Republicans in Congress, Democrats on Capitol Hill are more split.

Some Democrats, like Kerry, want the president to engineer a quick pullout. A few are not so sure. And there are some that are walking a fine line - expressing their opposition to the war, but at the same time not wanting it to appear that they do not support U.S. troops fighting and dying there.
Late in the week, House Republicans, looking to show support for the president and highlight Democratic opposition, introduced a resolution declaring "that it is not in the national security interest ... to set an arbitrary date" for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a memo to fellow Republicans that the debate would "create a portrait of contrast" between Republicans who "believe victory in Iraq would be an important blow to terrorism" and Democrats "prone to wavering endlessly about the use of force to protect American ideals."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., accused Republicans of "creating a trap" to make it appear Democrats did not support the troops. She said that while Democrats might disagree on timetables for withdrawal, they do agree that the war was "a grotesque mistake."

The Democratic split on Iraq was spotlighted Tuesday, the same day Bush was in Baghdad. The Washington Post reported that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., was booed and hissed at a conference of liberal activists as she defended her opposition to a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, "and later received an implicit rebuke from Kerry for failing to acknowledge that her support for the war was a mistake."

Clinton actually seemed to be trying to have it several ways: "I do not think it is a smart strategy either for the president to continue with his open-ended commitment ... nor do I think it is smart strategy to set a date certain. I do not agree that that is in the best interest of our troops or our country."

Kerry and Clinton could be rivals for the 2008 presidential nomination.

The elections we face this November are for control of Congress. Polls now show the Democrats have the upper hand. Yet, it is clear that Republicans are not running away from the president on Iraq, even though his numbers are down. Democrats are still looking for a unified Iraq strategy. Bush said he looks forward to the debate and plans to campaign hard in the fall. If this week is a harbinger, it is going to be a bruising autumn