In all the hubbub over Gonzales' painfully inept performance, Wolfowitz's continued lies, the dissection of a mentally deranged college student and other events, the fact that Harry Reid told Bush yesterday that Iraq was over has been only lightly discussed. (Though TPM Cafe had a glimpse of this story yesterday.)
Top Senate Democrat to Bush: Iraq war is lost
By Susan Cornwell 1 hour, 18 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Thursday he told President George W. Bush the Iraq war was lost and the recent U.S. troop increase had accomplished nothing.
(more)
Reid, the Senate's top Democrat, described part of a meeting with Bush at the White House on Wednesday -- the same day bombs killed almost 200 people in Baghdad in the worst day of violence since a U.S.-backed security crackdown was launched there earlier this year.
"This is the message I took to the president," Reid said at a news conference.
"Now I believe myself ... that this war is lost, and that the surge is not accomplishing anything, as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday," said Reid, of Nevada.
"I know I was like the odd guy out yesterday at the White House, but at least I told him what he needed to hear, not what he wanted to hear," he added.
...
Reid said his message for Bush was to recall a turning point in the Vietnam War, in the mid 1960s, when Reid said President Lyndon Johnson decided to send thousands more troops to Vietnam despite knowing the conflict was not winnable.
...
Reid said he did not think more U.S. troops could help. "I think it's failed, I say that without any question," he said of the troop increase.
Vietnam returns to haunt Bush. Only this time, his daddy and his daddy's friends can't bail him out.
Give Harry Reid credit: he can read polls. With Americans turning against the war in increasing numbers (58% and rising), and with voters expecting the Democrats to get us out of this mess, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are setting about doing exactly that.
It will never happen fast enough for me and many others here, but this blunt assessment from Reid delivered to Bush's face is a good start. The message to House and Senate Republicans is quite clear now: Make your bed with the President and the war, or with the American people. And should you choose the former over the latter, there will be hell to pay at the polls in `08.
My guess is that Reid's clear intention to fight Bush on this will send some Republicans scurrying to distance themselves from Cheney and company.
The more steadfast the Democrats are on this, the more likely the defections from the other side.
Update [2007-4-19 17:38:36 by Bob Johnson]:
DanK Is Back has additional reporting on this in his diary.