Same Cokie, same old story, five years and counting.
STEPHANOPOLOUS: But this is going to be a split in the party. You all (at The Nation) are backing a plan that a lot of Congressional challengers are backing (The Responsible Plan) saying, immediate withdrawal, unconditional...
VANDEN HEUVEL: that's right...
(crosstalk)
VANDEN HEUVEL: There are 42 Congressional challengers...
ROBERTS: But no major Presidential candidates are saying that, because they're sitting there saying look, we've been there, we've seen it, we think it's an irresponsible thing to do.
VANDEN HEUVEL: It is not, but you know what, the responsible thing to do is withdraw.... If we withdraw responsibly, the region would be more stable in the long term, America will be restored as a responsible global leader, and there are 42 challengers, you are absolutely right Cokie, who have a responsible plan to withdraw.
ROBERTS: Convincing the electorate of that I think would be very difficult, and I also agree that the notion that Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham you heard this morning putting forward, that Americans would prefer to win, is--
VANDEN HEUVEL: But what is winning? This war is unwinnable, there are no military solutions. And Cokie, Americans are already behind this, 2/3 of Americans believe this war was a mistake to fight. And when Dick Cheney said to ABC's Martha Raddatz last week, "I don't care what Americans think." The contempt, the disdain for Americans and for what this war has done to the military, to our economy, and to our future as a nation. If you care about responsible....
Of course Americans would prefer to win. In the immortal words of Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh, winning is "like, you know, better than losing!" The thing is, we're not going to win and the American people are actually smart enough to realize that.
It's time to talk about what "winning" would really mean, in the real world--the one outside of the fevered imaginations of Roberts, Broder, et al. It means, in large part, what the Responsible Plan is calling for: a solution that reengages the international community, that puts diplomacy above military posturing, that soberly assesses where we are in order to get us out as quickly, as efficiently, and as responsibly as possible. "Winning" in Iraq at this point can only mean limiting further destruction and death.
The majority of Americans know that. And as a reflection of that reality, more than 50 Congressional challengers, as well as a number of military advisers, recognize it, too. They're so convinced of it that staking their future careers on it.