I was watching CNN today, and Wolf Blitzer played a clip of Bush giving a speech yesterday calling the Democrats the party of "Cut and Run". Max Cleland was on to represent Dems. After the clip, Wolf asked Cleland what he thought of the President's comments. I waited for a real smackdown, but all I got was Cleland talking about Bush's bad record on veteran's benefits and "cut and run" being a bumper sticker approach to policy.
I did not find this a satisfactory response, so for the sake of my blood pressure, I have crafted the following memo for all Dems asked to comment on this topic. All Dems asked to appear on CNN, Fox, etc -- please commit to memory...
MEMORANDUM
To: All Democrats
Subject: The True Party of Cut and Run
Message: Let's make this short and sweet. When some asshole commentator or political pundit brings up the charge that Democrats are the party of cut and run because we think Bush's present Iraq policy is a failure and that our occupation of Iraq has become part of the problem (a view shared by one of the UK's top military commanders), you are to reply like this:
Wolf "the Idiot" Blitzer: So, _____, what do you think about President Bush's charge that Democrats are the party of cut and run?
You: Well, Wolf, the President has defined cutting and running as leaving a place before the mission is accomplished.
Based on the President's own definition, I'd have to say that Republicans are the party of cut and run, since they abandoned the mission in Afghanistan to divert men and resources to an unnecessary war in Iraq. Now the Taliban is resurgent, the Karzai government is endangered, and Osama bin Laden is wandering free in the mountains of Pakistan. Meanwhile, at home we have outsourced control of our ports, turned homeland security spending into just another pork barrel to buy votes with, and failed to enact the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
So, Wolf, what I would like to ask the President is this: why has he cut and run from the real war on terror to pursue a conflict that has cost us dearly in blood and treasure, but has done nothing to make us any safer?