The latest milestone in the Iraq war merited barely more than a passing glance from the American leadership yesterday.

At the White House, the spokeswoman Dana Perino said that the 4,000th US military death was a “sober moment” and emphasised that President Bush spent time every day thinking about those who had been killed.

Barack Obama - who is on holiday - issued a one-paragraph statement, saying: “Each death is a tragedy and we honour every fallen American.” Hillary Clinton mentioned the “heartbreaking news” from Iraq at the start of a big speech on the economy, saying that Americans were suffering “a crisis of confidence” over leadership on both issues.

Politicians, press and public, however, all appear to have grown weary of - even jaded with - discussing the war. Indeed, the headlines yesterday remained dominated by the economy, which has replaced Iraq as the leading concern for voters.

The Democratic-dominated Congress, having spent much of the past year seeking to tie future funding for the war to a planned withdrawal of troops, has now switched to domestic “pocketbook” issues.

Last week's fifth anniversary of the war was marked with a collective yawn by many parts of the media, while a series of Hollywood films about Iraq have disappeared without trace at the box office.

According to a survey last month by the Pew Research Centre, only 28 per cent of Americans can identify the number of US military fatalities in Iraq. A year ago 55 per cent were tracking the figure correctly.

The same poll suggested that the perceived success of last year's “surge” in troop levels is changing the political dynamics of the issue. A narrow majority - 53 per cent - of voters now believes that the US will ultimately prevail in Iraq, while those saying that the war is going well or fairly well has risen to 48 per cent from 30 per cent a year ago.

Although most Americans still believe the invasion to have been wrong, Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, could afford to deliver a response to such polls, which was taciturn even by his own standards. “So?” he replied.

As support for and opposition to the war moves closer to parity there is a sense of stalemate, as well as fatigue, on the subject.

Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama promise to end the war swiftly but, behind the slogans, both Democratic presidential candidates have caveats of keeping “specialised units” or allowing for “tactical adjustments” that may mean troops stay for years.

John McCain, the Republican nominee-elect, has been steadfast in his support for the war. He continues to talk of victory and an indeterminate military presence, if remaining vague about what constitutes victory or how long troops must stay.

This month Mr McCain said that if he could not convince Americans to back continued military action, “then I lose”. But, in a sign of how even his “straight talk” on Iraq has become clouded by doubt, he backed off.

“Let me not put it that stark. I'd like to retract 'I'll lose',” he said. “Clearly, I am tied to it - to a large degree.”

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