Things Haven't Changed

I wasn't able to follow world events during my sojourn in Peru (truthfully I didn't want to). I see now that I'm back nothing has changed.

The saddest thing of all is the lack of seriousness on Iraq. We were stuck in traffic on the way home from the airport due to the anti-war demonstration. I wish the war debate could move beyond the "staying the course" and "fight them there instead of here" empty rhetoric of the administration vs. the "bring them home now" mentality of the Dems and the Move on.org crowd. Both approaches seem mindless.

Meanwhile, the administration wants to run the clock and the Dems have eyes -- not on a secure America and a foreign policy that will support stability and protect American interests in the world -- but instead on the 2008 election. The lightening-quick Democratic response to Gen. David Petraeus' testimony and the announcement of a troop withdrawl?

When House Democratic leaders convened in the office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) at 5:30 p.m. Monday, strategists concluded they were already getting credit for what was happening but that voters wanted much more. So Pelosi, according to aides at the meeting, insisted that Democrats coordinate their message and dictated what that message would be: The general's plan meant 10 more years of war, or even "endless war."

Good -- let's focus on the message that will win votes on not on policy that will save lives.

But surely, there are serious minds in the Democratic leadership looking for the right solution to the mess Bush has gotten us into? Well, probably not:

Now that the president has endorsed the Petraeus-Crocker plan for Iraq, it is worth noting one exchange from their Senate hearings.

Some senators, such as Barbara Boxer of California, were so self-absorbed they could not manage to ask a single question in their allotted time, even when they had Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker ready to provide answers.