The point I'm trying to make here is not to slavishly follow a different country´s approach but to see how others respond to the same right wing attacks more successfully.
In this case, we are letting the Republicans define withdrawal as defeat, and they´ll win the debate. It's dangerous to predict and I hope I'm wrong, but I bet the next set of polls will show that increased confidence in them. Bush's ratings will rebound slightly and many Dems will come to the conclusion that they can't oppose him on Iraq.
A better response is to adopt the tactics used by the left in Spain in redefining the definers.
1) Say they misled before and have no credibility on the issue.
2) Say the screwed up the war they misled us into.
3) Insist they are weakening America, and wasting the lives of Americans and lowering our prestige abroad.
4) Say over and over again that the people who created the mess can't be expected to finish the job.
As it is, we ended up with these two resolutions, which focus after all on policy not on the debate, which were going to lose anyway. If they were going to lose, why not use them to express the frustration that is rampant in the country and go for the jugular. You weren't going to get the jugular, but at least you get seen as people who go for jugulars.