–John Howard: supported Iraq war, reelected fall 2004.
–George W. Bush: supported Iraq war, reelected fall 2004.
–Tony Blair: supported Iraq war, reelected spring 2005 (with smaller majority).
–Jacques Chirac: opposed Iraq war, handed humiliating personal rebuke with rejection of EU Constitution. A reelection campaign is unthinkable.
–Gerhard Schroeder: opposed Iraq war, party had disastrous results in spring 2005 regional elections, now calling for early elections, and is 17 points down.

Is it comparing apples and oranges? Perhaps. And of course, Aznar was defeated in Spain in March 2004. But perhaps it reflects a bit about how the people of these nations see their leaders. The decision to invade was neither politically popular nor easy for Howard, Bush, or Blair, and perhaps at least a slim majority of their electorates credited them for making the hard call. Chirac and Schroeder’s decisions were popular at the time and neither country wishes to join the mission in Iraq – but neither man can portray himself as a courageous leader who makes the hard and politically unpopular choice.