“Poll Shows Opposition to Iraq War at All Time High” – that’s the headline at NYTimes.com, at the moment.  And yet we have the Democratic leadership caving to the White House on the matter of withdrawal deadlines.  I know that it takes a while to get over being the minority party, but it’s about @)(@!@! time the Democrats shake it off and start delivering.  And I don’t want to hear a goddamn thing about being afraid that anyone will look like they’re not “supporting the troops.”

No one with two brain cells to rub together can make a cogent argument for the proposition that setting a hard withdrawal date is somehow failing to “support the troops.”  Sure, you can say that it’s failing to support the President, the fantasies of PNAC, or the bloodlust of the remaining sliver of the population that supports President Bush.  But it is NOT failing to “support the troops” (if you need examples of failing to support the troops, take a look at the Bush budget position on military pay or veterans benefits).  The Democratic leadership needs to start acting as if they understand this reality, and if they don’t, they’ll get absolutely no sympathy (or contributions or support) from me when they start paying a political price for it.