Dems Hold All the Cards on Iraq, So Why Are They Folding?

by Arianna Huffington
CommonDreams.com

Remember earlier this summer when Harry Reid and the Democrats vowed they were “going to hold the president’s feet to the fire” on Iraq? Well, now it appears they’ve decided to play footsie with the White House instead and take what one Democratic strategist calls “a more nuanced approach” that includes backing off demands to set a firm withdrawal date.

In anticipation of next weeks’ inevitably sunny side up — and statistically cherry-picked — report from Gen. Petraeus, the White House has cranked up its spin machine, and the Democrats are falling into their default duck-and-cover mode.

So we get Bush hopping off a plane in Australia after his eight-hour photo-op layover in Iraq and telling the Deputy Prime Minister: “We’re kicking ass” — while Democratic leaders let it be known they are hoping “to manage expectations” by lowering their sights on Iraq.

Bush is certainly not kicking ass in Iraq but next week he may be kicking ass in Washington.

Just last week, Reid was promising “I will not let these Republicans hide. When the Senate returns to Washington, I will force them to take vote, after vote, after vote on bringing an end to the war in Iraq.”

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