On Shifting Ground
Kimberley Strassel takes a look at the rapidly shifting ground the Democrats find themselves on having tied themselves so tightly to the anti-war left. It's getting to be a pretty shaky place to be.
And slowly, slowly began a trickle of good news: fewer car and suicide bombings here; fewer violent civilian deaths there; Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar and elsewhere who had joined with the U.S. against al Qaeda. These good tidings, and many more, were confirmed this week, as Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker assured the U.S. public that Iraq really is making strides both militarily and politically, and that the U.S. still very much has the opportunity to deliver victory.
The military commander also went out of his way to explain that it was entirely because of the U.S.'s growing strength on the military front, that we might now begin to talk about limited force withdrawals. This is what the vast number of Americans have been aching to hear–not talk of a dishonorable cut-and-run–and polls show they are increasingly willing to grant Gen. Petraeus, and by extension the Bush administration, more time to build on this success.
In short, the war is in a better place, and by extension those politicians who have supported the war are in a better place. The most obvious winners are congressional Republicans. The pressure they had faced to join with Democrats on withdrawal deadlines has now ebbed, primarily because Gen. Petraeus is himself advocating bringing troops back home–and from a position of strength. Those members who have fought the hardest for a principled stand in Iraq, say Sen. Joe Lieberman, are looking smarter, and will be able to tackle upcoming legislative battles–over the defense budget and a later war supplemental–with renewed firepower. One senior House staffer reports that some amazed Republicans are even allowing themselves to hope–should the upcoming months deliver as much positive news as the preceding few–that Iraq might be a "second tier" issue come the election.
Strassel's point, that good military policy is good politics, bears repeating. Despite the howling from the far left, the American public does not want to be defeated in a war. The Democrats badly misinterpreted the mandate the voters gave them in 2006. Willfully misinterpreted it with Reid and Pelosi steering farther to the left each day. And the Dems are now finding themselves in a tough place politically.
The real question now is whether the Democrats can evacuate the defeatist position rapidly enough to save face. The smear attempt on General David Petraeus by MoveOn is becoming an albatross for the Democrats. (There is another flurry of editorials this morning warning about that.) Strassel is right: good military policy is good politics. The Dems managed to forget their lessons from Vietnam - where a defeatist, anti-military policy put them in real political trouble for many years.
By Maggie, Friday, 14 September , 2007 @ 7:29 am
Just like the unbathed and maniacal man dressed only in a filthy, unbuttoned trench coat, the democrats this week have exposed themselves for the political deviants that they are …
Back-fire is a bitch.