The Democrats' position on the Iraq war reminds me of the party game "Twister." Supporting the troops, damning the war, justifyably criticising Bush for having no withdrawal plan but afraid to stand up for scheduled withdrawal. Too much mealy-mouthed mush, and it will hurt us badly in '06. Unless ...
Let's re-focus. There's a meta-issue that we can win on. We can win by pointing out that the Iraq adventure was a preemptive war, and that preemptive wars are wrong. No More First Strikes! Preemption precludes diplomatic solutions. Preemption is always based on intelligence that's subject to question -- think WMD's. Most important to the '06 elections, the concept of preemptive invasion turns the stomachs of both true foreign policy conservatives and progressives alike. It's a Big Tent issue.
Focus on the First Strike mentality as the cause for the present Iraq disaster. It will promote a citicism of Bush's War, and thus of Dear Leader, without "getting personal."