Reply #2: There's only one argument that helps democrats. [View All]

It's not, "whether it was a mistake or not." There's no reason to ignore the mistake, particularly if you are trying to come across better by comparison.

It's not, "anyone who is anything but pullout immediately is just the same as Bush or pro war, and anybody who voted for the war resolution is basically a neo-con." That's exactly the bushites want: for the democrats to concede that everyone made the same mistake, and since all are responsible, nobody is responsible. It puts Bush, wrongly, in an imaginary mainstream of people wanting war instead of being the main driver, through deception and ideology and fear, of the war.

The only argument that helps is to admit that the war was a mistake, that voting for the resolution gave too much power to the wrong man, and those mistakes can't be resolved by continuing to give him power. All hypothetical plans would be premised on a hypothetical competent administration with a real interest in a good result. The reality is that the people called on to execute any plan are incompetent and only interested in CYA. Since there is no way for us to survive another three years with an incompetent adminstration.
Pulling out now is the best solution GIVEN THAT Bush won the reelection.

We don't have to concede that any plan is good if Bush has to execute it. He isn't our guy. If we thought he was competent, we wouldn't have voted for him. Time to take his toys away, time to find out what he has really been doing. Time to rebuild our forces and hope to get through it.

That's the only intelligent choice, politically or strategically.
Furthermore