The NYTimes notes that the Dems are busily trying to figure out how to be for the war, after they were against it, after they were for it:

Advisers to Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama say that the candidates have watched security conditions improve after the troop escalation in Iraq and concluded that it would be folly not to acknowledge those gains. At the same time, they are arguing that American casualties are still too high, that a quick withdrawal is the only way to end the war and that the so-called surge in additional troops has not paid off in political progress in Iraq.

I’ve noticed this in the media’s coverage – and even in callers on the NARN show; suddenly, now that fewer people are dying and the threat of civil war seems to be waning, a functional parliament and government is the gold standard for determining success in Iraq.

But the changing situation suggests for the first time that the politics of the war could shift in the general election next year, particularly if the gains continue. While the Democratic candidates are continuing to assail the war — a popular position with many of the party’s primary voters — they run the risk that Republicans will use those critiques to attack the party’s nominee in the election as defeatist and lacking faith in the American military.

Um, yeah.  With bells on.

“The politics of Iraq are going to change dramatically in the general election, assuming Iraq continues to show some hopefulness,” said Michael E. O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who is a supporter of Mrs. Clinton’s and a proponent of the military buildup. “If Iraq looks at least partly salvageable, it will be important to explain as a candidate how you would salvage it — how you would get our troops out and not lose the war. The Democrats need to be very careful with what they say and not hem themselves in.”

I think for most Democrats – those that are in any way beholden to the nutroots – it’s too late.

Not that it’ll harm the likes of Keith Ellison and Betty “Rubble” McCollum, but yes, it is a club that needs to be used with gusto.

This entry was posted by by Mitch Berg on Monday, November 26th, 2007 at 5:29 am and is filed under Campaign '08, War On Terror. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.