[TankGirl]

Telegraph:

Allies desert 'lame duck president'

What most concerns Mr Bush's remaining allies is that his focus on Iraq has distracted attention from other international problems, including the increasingly authoritarian nature of Russia and the threat of Iran's nuclear programme.

Another former White House aide said the administration had "taken its eye off the ball with Russia". He added: "I don't want to wake up in 10 years' time and read that we actually lost the Cold War."

Another conservative, who met last week with senior officials at the White House and the Pentagon, warned: "George Bush's presidency will be defined not by Iraq but by whether the Middle East goes nuclear."

Far from sympathising, senior Republicans blame the president for losing the election. They are furious that he refused to sack his defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, before the mid-terms and then let him go after the defeat.

Mr Nuzzo said: "At that point an awful lot of loyal Republicans said: 'They're only in it for themselves.' Had Rumsfeld retired earlier, I have no doubt the Republican House could have been saved and certainly the Senate."

The influential Right-wing commentator Robert Novak wrote last week: "Bush is alone. In half a century, I have not seen a president so isolated from his own party in Congress - not even Richard Nixon as he faced impeachment."

Last week, Mr Bush rejected calls to withdraw from Iraq, saying that to leave "before the job is done" would lead to new terrorist attacks on US soil.

Perhaps more telling was his recent comment at the annual White House press corps dinner: "A year ago, my approval ratings were in the 30s, my nominee for the Supreme Court had just withdrawn and my vice-president had shot someone. Ah, those were the good old days."