Let's see if the Democrats stand up!

They won the election to end the war, Bush wants to escalate it, and they need to answer now.

Cheney/Bush/Rice found just their strategy to back them off - call them chicken, or terrorists, or defeatists, non-american, and all that nonsense.

I have been saying from the beginning they really won't do anything, because in reality they are not really that different from Bush/Rebublicans. Each thinks vastly different things perhaps, but at the end of the day merely postures themselves differently to the public, and ends up doing mostly the same thing - supporting business, and themselves.

They could do many things to force the president's hand to end the war. And a lot of Republicans, and the population in general, would support them.

They can, for example, deny all money going to Iraq. Which would be a real showdown of opposing intentions. But none of them are in for any of that.

There is the large problem that all of them want to save face, and climb the social ladder some more. Get to say "I got us the victory" in the Iraq war. More self-interest - the people who are dying on all sides simply don't matter as much as their careers.

But the Iraq Study Group solved that problem for everyone I think, by taking the blame for making the decision - they looked at it in depth, a bunch of retired, experienced people, who have gone to war a number of times. They decided it can't be done. Kissinger also stated his opinion to that effect. And some US generals.

What's to be done? What are they doing?

In the virtual world of US politics - ignore reality, say you are going to win, and keep on postponing losing and killing more people.

Bush, the republicans, and the democrats, after arguing and fighting a bit more, will keep right on at it - pushing the hot potato to each other and hoping someone else gets stuffed with the "chicken" label, rather than everyone just leave Bush isolated with the "arrogant dreamer" label for having invaded in the first place, against his own father's and the world's advice.