May 12, 2007
Momentum builds against GOP candidates

The week had the feel of 1974. Republican members of Congress marched to the White House to deliver a frank message to an embattled president: You are a liability.

Three decades ago, it was Watergate. Now, it's Iraq.

President Bush's meeting with the 11 Republican House members grew out of a sudden decline in the party's fortunes that has recently come into sharp relief.

The evidence of the trend is anecdotal and quantifiable: Public opinion polls show that the electorate has shifted to the left since the 2004 elections, with the war a leading drag on Republicans.