The Democrat miscalculation on Iraq

Captain's Quarters:

Democrats figured that the August recess would give them plenty of opportunity to raise the heat on Republicans to force a withdrawal date from Iraq. They could return to their home districts, stoke some demonstrations, and return with new momentum after Labor Day to push for retreat. Unfortunately, events have intervened, and now Democrats have to regroup to avoid looking like defeatists while the military effort has started producing successes....

...

The Democrats have been outmanuevered again on Iraq. Earlier this year, they took 108 days to come up with a funding formula that wouldn't get vetoed by the Bush administration, thinking that they could dictate terms to the White House....

...

Now that their predictions of military failure have have died, the Democrats want to focus on the lack of political reform as a reason to leave. In January, they talked about how futile it was to play "whack-a-mole" when terrorists would simply move back and forth, and that the American and Iraqi forces could not clear and hold territory. Since that's been proven wrong, they now claim that the current Iraqi government cannot possibly institute the reforms Congress demands, such as oil revenue sharing and the forgiveness of former Ba'athists. Unless Iraq succeeds in these reforms as a sign of unity, we should withdraw, the argument will go.

...

The Democrats have managed to maneuver themselves into a box canyon. Their political position is terrible, but the media will do its best to bail them out and unfortunately the Republicans do not have the killer instincts needed to crush and humiliate them they way they deserve for the politics of the last 10 months.

Jules Crittenden asks the question of the day, "If political failure is reason for abandonment, what are the Dems still doing on Capitol Hill?" Indeed. The Washington Times asks if the Democrats are evolving.