Almost nothing would fill them [Democrats] with greater horror than to wake up and find that a handful of Republicans are willing to back the Democratic Party in what its leaders say it wants to do relative to Iraq.
Almost nothing, short of seeing the sun come up in the west, would be more astounding.
There is absolutely nothing that would cause a sufficient "handful" of Republicans to defy Bush. Not now. Not next week. Not next year. Not until January, 2009, when Bush sails off into the west, singing, "We were on the road to victory when I was President" all the way.
A few points, Philadelphia Steve. It seems you are agreeing that the Democratic leadership is basing its strategy on a "sure thing".
Secondly, I don't care what you Democrats do. All I expected of a Democratic return to power was that some in the Party would act as a slight stumbling block to the administration's future plans for the Mideast (e.g., fellows like Senator Webb).
I also would expect Democrats to stop demanding that others provide them with a "plan" and, if it pleases them to do so, to instead come up with one themselves -- I mean a plan beyond not seriously rocking the boat until after the '08 elections. It is your party. Your win. If your fellow Democrats are upset at having been misled by all the pre-election mumbo jumbo coming from the Democratic Party leadership, then direct your ire at them -- but for those of us who may not be willing to enfranchise either major party's candidate with the temporary authority to wield power as a result of our vote, or for those of us who are going to cast a principled vote for a candidate of a minor party whom we judge to be worthy of occupying the office of the presidency, expect us to exercise our Right to be critical of both the utterly corrupt Democratic and the utterly corrupt Republican parties, if for no other reason than it being entertainment of a sort in an otherwise dismal decade.;-)
Yours,
Issodhos
