once he's president, as long as he doesn't screw up, and as long as the economy doesn't degenerate into the second great depression (which it won't), he will always be remembered fondly, much as JFK was. he'll likely be president for 2 terms.

as for the american troops, i suspect the gestures of a pull-out may start soon, but the actual pull-out may still be going on by the end of the next presidency. i also suspect that there's gonna be some semi-permanent american presence in iraq. americans can't afford to have iraq out of control. it's their mess, they gotta clean it up.

it's an irony that despite the death of a tyrant, the lives of average iraqis aren't any better, and the lives of iraqi christians actually got worse. bush really dropped ball there. he's a likable guy, but he'll prolly always be remembered as one of the most incompetent american presidents there is.