Iraq War: Are the bad polling numbers the result of bad reporting on the war?

"I think we are winning.  Okay?  I think we're definitely winning.  I think we've been winning for some time." - Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the Iraq War 04/26/05

"I just wonder if they will ever tell us the truth." - Harold Casey, Louisville, KY, October 2004.

Ivo Daalder makes a point about the growing unpopularity of the Iraq War that will become increasingly important as the White House continues to try to portray war critics as disloyal: David Brooks Doesn't Get It TPM Cafe 01/23/05. He writes that the opinion polls show:

... that the American people are losing confidence in their government when it comes to Iraq. Part of the reason is the growing disconnect between what Bush and other administration officials are saying about Iraq and the reality of daily bombings and killings on the ground. (Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel [gets it]: "Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality.")

The more important reason for the public's discontent is the growing sense that the current stratey isn't working. The public will support sacrifice and will stand by a president even when the going gets tough, but only if they are absolutely convinced that the president and his administration know what they are doing and have a strategy for success. Americans know neither is currently the case. (my emphasis)

I would only add the question: when are those great Republican "moderates" like Chuck Hagel going to do something substantial to pressure the Bush administration for a better policy?