WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (AFP) - Democrats were hoping that two critical reports this week on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal will erode George W. Bush`s "war president" status, as Republicans prepared to nominate him as their candidate for another four-year White House term.
The reports on Iraqi prisoner abuse gave opposition Democrats new ammunition to blast the president`s handling of Iraq, with presidential challenger John Kerry calling for an independent commission probe.
"That commission ought to report back, so that these abuses can never take place again," said Kerry, who was also the most prominent Democrat to call for US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to lose his job over scandal.
"It`s not just the little person at the bottom who ought to pay the price of responsibility," the Massachusetts senator said -- adding that accountability for the scandal goes right to the White House door.
Just days before the start of the Republican National Convention in New York City next week, a four-member, independent panel headed by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger in a 92-page report rebuked senior Pentagon civilian and military leaders failing to adequately supervise the US military guards.
A separate report led by Army general George Fay blamed a lack of Pentagon oversight for the chaotic and abusive conditions at Abu Ghraib.
Democrats hoped the investigations would refocus the attention of American voters on ongoing US failures in managing postwar Iraq, and by extension, the entire decision to invade the country.
The reports also gave Kerry a welcome chance to change the topic from his military service in Vietnam -- a theme that has dominated headlines in recent weeks.
But John Mueller, a professor at Ohio State University focusing on presidential politics, said that while the Abu Ghraib scandal might have turned some voters away from Bush early on, this week`s revelations were unlikely to exact an additional toll.
"I don`t think that it will change much of the general attitude toward the war. At this point, it`s part of the wallpaper," Mueller said.
The Abu Ghraib scandal "is built into the public calculus as just part of the mess that Iraq has become," he said.
By contrast, anti-Kerry ads sponsored the independent group "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" appear to have drawn blood.
After weeks of questioning whether the Massachusetts senator actually deserved war medals he received for military service in Vietnam, three separate opinion polls this week showed Kerry -- who had enjoyed a slight lead for several weeks -- falling behind Bush.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed Bush with a 47 to 45 percent edge over the Massachusetts senator. A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll put Bush in front of Kerry by 50 percent to 47 percent among likely voters, while a Los Angeles Times poll found Bush edged out Kerry by 49 to 46 percent.
Mueller said an explosive new revelation coming from Abu Ghraib -- such as greater involvement by top military brass in carrying out the abuses -- could tip US public opinion. Still, Americans are more likely to be swayed by mounting US casualties than Iraqi torture victims, he said.
"The key issue for voters is going to be American deaths there, not Iraqis," said Mueller.
Several more reports into the scandal are upcoming, including one on detention operations in Iraq next month by the US Navy`s inspector general.
The Senate Armed Services Committee also has scheduled a September 9 hearing into both the Schlessinger and Fay reports.