An example of why the Democrats inspire little confidence these days.
By: Hank Kalet
Here’s a story that should demonstrate just how unlikely it is that the Democrats will regain a majority in Congress next year.
These are the basic realities:
1. The war in Iraq in stalemate. The moderate strides forward that have been made and it would be unfair not to note that there have been some positive moments are overshadowed by violence and instability of a nation that is slowly descending into civil war.
2. The American presence is only making things worse, acting as a catalyst for the violence.
3. The American public has lost faith in the war, sees it as a mistake and believes that the president and his minions lied and dissembled to ensure that he could send in troops.
The moment is ripe for someone to put ending this calamity on the table. And yet, far too many Democrats are unwilling to do what needs to be done.
"Democratic candidates said their biggest concern is that voters will misconstrue comments by party leaders about Bush’s handling of the war as criticism of U.S. troops who are fighting in Iraq," The Washington Post wrote today.
What these unnamed Democrats actually are demonstrating is that they have little faith in the intelligence of the American public. Or perhaps they have no faith in their own ability to communicate what should be a relatively simple message that the president has unnecessarily put the lives of American soldiers at risk to fight a war that not only should not have been fought, but has been badly planned and has isolated the nation.
(Tomorrow’s Dispatches column fleshes this piece out.)