Am I mad as hell that the Democrats are conceding on the war funding? Damn right.
But does this mean that all those Democrats we elected are failures? NO!
Yes, it does look ugly right now, but the fact of the matter is, we cannot just stop funding the war. To do that would absolutely spell defeat for the Democrats in the next election. Guaranteed.
Everybody seems to be forgetting that we have the barest of majorities in the Senate. We all knew, in our heart of hearts, that it would be darn hard to put that leash on Bush, where it belongs. But until Republicans start worrying about re-election, they're not going to move on punishing him.
So, calm down, get a grip, and move on.
Here's what I think is going to happen in the next four months.
I think everybody knows that Iraq is not going to improve by September. The Iraqi Congress is going to take a Bush vacation, so no political progress will be made.
Do not forget. This is Bush's war, not ours. And the fault for failing to stop him lies not with the Democratic majority in the House, nor with the Democrats with that bare majority in the Senate.
As the summer proceeds, and things do not improve (which is the most likely scenario, since Bush has never had a strategy), more and more Americans are going to get angrier and angrier that Republicans in the House and Senate did not support us in our attempt to leash Bush.
Come September, when Petraeus and Bush report to Congress, not only will the presumed lack of progress be evident, but those Republicans are going to be looking to save their own butts.
Sad, but true. They're going to be (gasp) playing politics again with our soldiers lives.
Meanwhile, I don't think very many people are going to blame the Democrats for the continued decimation of our military. Our Democrats in Congress tried as hard as they could, and it's as clear as anything that the failure belongs to the Republicans who refused to join us. As much as anybody here, or anywhere, I resent the death of every single soldier. And I don't think we can blame the Democrats for the next four months. You need the votes to override a veto.
I was so proud of the bill we sent to Bush, and yes, he predictably vetoed it. It would have been nice if the Republicans had joined us to override it, but it's going to take time.
But you have to remember, the Democrats we elected are not magicians, nor do they have the kind of majority needed. So they're governing as they must. Give Bush four months of funding, and try again.
And bless our soldiers till then.