John Howard, YOUR NEXT!!

And next on the list is Aussie PM John Howard:

Iraq policy could also sink Australia's PM

By Michael Perry
Fri Nov 10, 1:07 AM ET

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a staunch supporter of President George Bush's Iraq policy, should take heed of U.S. voter backlash as he prepares for a 2007 election, local media and critics said on Friday.

Anger at the war in Iraq contributed to this week's crushing defeat of Bush's Republican party in mid-term elections for the House of Representatives and Congress.

Australia has about 1,500 troops in and around Iraq and, according to recent opinion polls, almost two in three Australians want these forces brought home.

"George W. Bush is captain of a sinking political ship. The message for Australia is to beware being caught supporting policies that will sink with Bush," wrote national affairs commentator Paul Kelly in the daily Australian newspaper.

Greens Senator Bob Brown described the Democrats' victory as an anti-war rebuke to Bush and warned Howard he could be next.

"Australian voters oppose the war in increasing droves. The 2006 U.S. voter backlash will become the 2007 Aussie voter backlash on Iraq," he said.

Australia was one of the first nations to commit troops to the 2003 U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein. Howard wants the troops to stay until Iraq can handle its own security, but the Labor opposition says it will bring them home if elected.

Legislative elections are due to be held by the end of 2007.

Labor leader Kim Beazley said the anti-Iraq sentiments of American voters were shared by many Australians.

"There is a real hunger in the American community for a change in strategy on Iraq and for effective action from the President to bring this conflict to a conclusion," Beazley told Australian television.

"I don't think the Australian people are any different from that. They think this (Iraq war) is a profound mistake which has not made them more secure and they want to see their political leaders working to conclude it."

Opinion polls show Labor is making inroads on Howard, whose 10-year grip on power has been loosened by rising interest rates and fuel prices which have hurt the middle-class voters the conservative prime minister calls his "battlers."

But Howard has an uncanny knack of sensing the public mood, an ability that has helped him win four straight elections.