Charles Krauthammer, the voice of wingnuttery - well, one such voice - on the Washington Post's Op-Ed page, offers some advice to John McCain today that the latter should heed. The headline says it all: Make the Election about Iraq.
The disconnect between what Democrats are saying about Iraq and what is actually happening there has reached grotesque proportions. Democrats won an exhilarating electoral victory in 2006 pledging withdrawal at a time when conditions in Iraq were dire and we were indeed losing the war. Two years later, when everything is changed, they continue to reflexively repeat their "narrative of defeat and retreat" (as Joe Lieberman so memorably called it) as if nothing has changed.
It is a position so utterly untenable that John McCain must seize the opportunity and, contrary to conventional wisdom, make the Iraq war the central winning plank of his campaign.
That's a fantastic idea.
Krauthammer's argument rests on a logical fallacy popularly known as 'drinking your own Kool-aid'. The only known remedy for this is confrontation with observable facts.
Here are some of the headlines about Iraq, the war itself, its consequences and costs that are, at this writing, scrolling up on Google News. They're perhaps slightly less candy-colored than Krauthammer's assessments.
U.S. soldier, Marine among dead in Iraq - The Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD -- A U.S. soldier and a Marine were among two dozen people whose deaths were reported Thursday in various incidents around Iraq.
The military said the soldier was killed Thursday by a roadside bomb in a western section of this capital city. A separate statement said the Marine died Wednesday in an incident that was not related to combat.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, a bomb inside a parked car in the Alawi neighborhood struck a police commando patrol, killing an officer and two civilians and wounding 15 people, police said.
Iraqis reject latest security agreement - Minneapolis Star-Tribune
New U.S. proposals have failed to overcome Iraqi opposition to a security pact, two legislators said Thursday, and a senior government official expressed doubt an agreement could be reached before the U.S. presidential election in November.
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,098 - Associated Press
As of Thursday, June 12, 2008, at least 4,098 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,338 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
Wylie father, son marching off to Iraq war - The Dallas Morning News
Most men and women called to serve in Iraq must leave behind family, friends and comforts of home. But a Wylie man and his father are going with one important comfort – each other.
Pfc. Jacob Ripple, 19, and his father, Spc. Ralph Ripple, 40, members of the Army National Guard Wylie Unit, left last week for training in Fort Polk, La. In November, they'll travel together to Iraq.
Veteran's Administration cover up of PTSD - ABC7.com, San Francisco
There is new evidence suggesting the Veteran's Administration is covering-up sub-standard mental health care given to vets. There's evidence a federal judge in San Francisco accepted on Tuesday, even though the case has already been tried.
On war, deception and now denial - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Did President Bush and his administration lead us into the Iraq war under false pretenses?
Absolutely, they did. The documented evidence is overwhelming.
Iraq war could cost taxpayers $2.7 trillion - CNN Money
As the Iraq war continues with no clear end in sight, the cost to taxpayers may balloon to $2.7 trillion by the time the conflict comes to an end, according to Congressional testimony.
Bomb kills 5 on Baghdad minibuses - Austin-American Statesman
A bomb planted near a bridge in northern Baghdad killed five people on passing minibuses and wounded 10 others, police said. Two mortar shells hit a busy Baghdad street, killing one person and injuring five.
Head of Saddam tribe blown up in car bomb blast - Reuters
The head of Saddam Hussein's tribe was killed by a bomb planted on his vehicle north of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
The blast killed Sheikh Ali al-Neda as he travelled along a highway after leaving his home in the late Iraqi president's hometown of Awja.
So that's the news from the blossoming flower groves of Iraq that Americans are reading today. Closer to home, a new poll from NBC/WSJ asks Americans whether they approve of the job George Bush is doing in Iraq. 33% do. 64% do not.
So yes, here's hoping that McCain takes Krauthammer's advice and makes the election all about the awesomeness that is republican Iraq policy. The sobering headlines aside, there really is no better advice that anyone could give republican John McCain than to plant himself firmly in a position that two out of three Americans reject. The same approach to the Great Depression worked remarkably well for Herbert Hoover.