How I learned to stop worrying and love the Iraqi election deadline

If the Dems had learned even one lesson by now, you'd think they'd catch on to the playground politics of the GOP and the brutality of Bush's message machine. By remaining a voice of reason, they are walking into the same snares that Bush has used so mercilessly against them for the past four years.

If they say, "Look at Iraq. It's a mess. Major political factions are saying they won't participate in the election. Security only gets worse as the election nears. We need to postpone the election," Bush gains ground by making them look like weak-kneed schoolgirls who quaked at the Afghan elections, which, according to him, went off without a hitch, yet another mile overtaken by freedom on the march.

What they need to do is embrace this impossible deadline, because Bush will declare victory no matter what. They predetermine their destiny by calling for postponement. The only opening they have for political gain is if they fully support the President, until the elections go pear-shaped. That's the moment when the punch will actually land. Any jabs before then just get the same judo treatment that Bush is brilliant at dishing out.