The Democrats' lie about Iraq policy

Victor Davis Hanson:

...

There is nothing wrong with changing your mind, especially in matters as serious as war -- but the public at least deserves a sincere explanation for this radical about-face.

So why not come clean about their changes of heart?

Many Democrats apparently think that claiming they were victimized by Bush and the neocons is more palatable than confessing to their own demoralization with the news from the front.

Others may fear that admitting publicly that a disheartened America should not or cannot finish a conflict would send a dangerous message to our enemies. So while these Democrats accuse President Bush of being hardheaded and unwavering on Iraq, they are still afraid that their own mea culpas would send an equally dangerous message of inconsistency abroad.

Democrats need to admit the truth: that removing a dangerous Saddam Hussein and promoting democracy in his place seemed a good idea to them in 2003-4 when the cost appeared tolerable. Now, in 2007, with over 3,000 American lives lost in Iraq, they feel differently.

In other words, Democrats could argue that somewhere along the line -- whether it was after Fallujah or the start of sectarian Sunni-Shiite violence -- they either lost confidence in the United States' very ability to stabilize Iraq, or felt that even if we could, it was no longer worth the tab in American blood and treasure.

...

Such an explanation of turnabout would be transparent and invite a public discussion. And it would certainly be more legitimate that the current protestations of "the neo-cons made me do it."

With America still engaged in a tough war, that kind of excuse-making just doesn't cut it.

It does highlight the dishonesty of their efforts to lose. The reason they do not do what Hanson suggest is because they are a party without core beliefs beyond maintaining viability as a candidate. There are no profiles in courage in the Democrat party outside of Joe Lieberman. They are also being coerced by anti war pukes within their party who would challenge their viability as a candidate if they told the truth about why they no longer support winning the war. For this group there are never any reasons for going to war while Republicans are in office. That is why they have fought so hard to delegitimize the war and the reasons for going to war rather than reasons for changing their mind about the war.