US: Whether in Congress, on the campaign trail or in debates, Democrats have dropped their reluctance to attack a wartime president and have launched a series of bitter criticisms of the Bush administration.
The tipping point has been the White House request for $87 billion for Iraq, which even Republican senators are finding hard to stomach.
The US administrator in Iraq, Mr Paul Bremer, faced tough questioning on the costs of post-war Iraq in a fourth day of testimony to Congress yesterday, especially after he failed to give even a rough estimate of future costs. Many House members were scathing in their interrogation of Mr Bremer. "With all due respect, if you can't give us an answer, you're stiffing us," the Appropriations Committee's top Democrat, David Obey, told him. Mr Bremer replied: "Congressman, I resent that." To which Mr Obey responded: "Well, I do too."
Democrats are capitalising on a sense that Americans were deceived over the cost of the war and its aftermath as well as in the rationale for war in the first place. US officials have confirmed a BBC report that they have failed to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In the first public assessment of progress in the search, former weapons inspector David Kay is expected to tell Congress next week that no illicit weapons have been found. The report may well be a private point of discussion between Mr Bush and British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair when the two meet in London in November, as announced yesterday.
Democrats have also seized on comments by Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell from February 24th 2001 - dug up by an Australian journalist - that Saddam Hussein "has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction".
The huge Iraqi bill and the soaring deficit have given the Democrats an opening to extend their assault and attack the Bush administration's tax cuts. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed that a large majority of Americans would prefer to cancel tax cuts for the wealthy rather than see the deficit grow any bigger. When the $87 billion request comes to the Senate next week, Democrats are expected to propose paying for it by cancelling the tax cuts - something which disaffected Republicans might support. Mr Bush is likely to get the funding, since Democrats will not want to risk being accused of delaying money needed by US soldiers.
Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld was also questioned sharply over an expected call-up of more reserve and National Guard troops next month after Washington's failure to create a new multinational division of up to 15,000 troops. This mobilisation will mean the unpopular call-up of married part-time soldiers with families and jobs.
On the election trail, Democratic candidates are trying to tap into the rage which has fuelled the campaign of front-runner Howard Dean. Mr Dean leads Senator John Kerry by 36 to 24 in a poll of New Hampshire's Democratic voters, with former general Wesley Clark, who entered the race last week, at 8 per cent. The 10 Democratic candidates savaged the Bush administration in a debate in New York last night, the first in which Mr Clark took part.