After President Bush unveiled his plan to escalate troop numbers in Iraq during his State of the Union address, it was poorly received across the board. Has the president listened to advisers from both sides, not to mention the opinions of the American public? This is Bush we are talking about. Of course he hasn't.

In his usual defiant fashion he announced recently that, "I'm the decision-maker," and "I've picked the plan that I think is most likely to succeed."

Bush then chastised both sides of the spectrum for not giving the plan a chance to work before condemning it and proceeded to challenge them to put forth their own ideas. I wonder why they wouldn't want to give one of Bush's ideas a chance to work in Iraq. It's not as though every plan he's had for Iraq has failed. Never mind, because that's exactly why they don't trust him on his word alone.

Whereas in the past Democrats and opponents to Bush would just have to take a seat and watch whatever horror played out after his decision, now they have the power and numbers to take action.

For starters, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) scheduled a hearing to investigate whether or not Congress has the power to shut off funding for the military campaign going on in Iraq. Some don't consider this the best option, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It's very unlikely to gain much support from either side, but the real issue is that Democrats now have the power to consider these options and lay them out on the table. Under Republican rule, it seemed like every other meeting was to see how we could support the President even more than before.

On another note, the National Intelligence Estimate (the presentation of the consensus view of U.S. Intelligence) is scheduled to be released soon. According to many insiders, it's going to present a bleak picture of Iraq — no surprise there. The surprise is that many are speculating the report will actually say that adding more troops is the wrong way to go, undermining President Bush and his desire to add 21,500 more troops.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi is taking matters into her own hands. Pelosi and a small delegation traveled to Iraq to meet with Prime Minister al-Maliki. It appears that Pelosi is tired of taking Bush's word on everything and wants to get information directly from the source. It's good to see a politician traveling there to see things firsthand and talk directly to the people; it will give Pelosi's suggestions more power than before.

Bush constantly implores us to continue to fight for Iraqis' freedom and desires, and Pelosi has taken the advice to heart and hears it from the Iraqis. Speaking of listening to the Iraqi people, let's take a listen to what their Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi had to say. He called the decision to invade Iraq an "idiot decision." In fact, his exact words were that "Iraq was put under occupation, which was an idiot decision."

So Bush asked everyone to present their own plans, and it looks like people are starting to take action and beginning to do just that. Bush's problem is that he's used to people going along with his ideas. He needs to get used to the idea of being a lame duck and start listening to those around him.

He says he's the decision-maker, which is basically a roundabout way of telling us that his opinion is what matters most. I think he's forgotten that he isn't our boss; it's the other way around. He carries out our will as President, not his own. The American public doesn't want to send more troops to Iraq, yet he insists upon doing so. Hopefully Pelosi and her fellow Democrats will stop Bush in his tracks and demand that he be accountable to the will of the people. Someone needs to put King George in his place and remind him that he is accountable to someone other than himself.

Reach columnist Hunter Kincaid at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.