Bush’s War May Doom “Yes We Can” Bipartisan Dream

Are you one of the 70 percent of Americans who would like to time warp themselves right past the remainder of the Bush administration and start fresh on inauguration day?

Not so fast.

President Bush has left an enormous mess to clean up and the process could unravel all the idyllic visions many democrats have of the future.

Case in point, today’s thought provoking op-ed piece by David Brooks the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/opinion/12brooks.html?hp

where he outlines an eerily plausible scenario on how a democratic president will likely have their lofty vision of a the future derailed in short order if they follow through with their campaign promises to bring American troops home soon after taking the oath of office.

“There would be private but powerful opposition from Arab leaders, who would fear a return to 2006 chaos. There would be irate opposition from important sections of the military, who would feel that the U.S. was squandering the gains of the previous year. A Democratic president with few military credentials would confront outraged and highly photogenic colonels screaming betrayal.

“There would be important criticism from nonpartisan military experts. In his latest report, the much-cited Anthony Cordesman describes an improving Iraqi security situation that still requires “strategic patience” and another five years to become self-sustaining.

“There would be furious opposition from Republicans and many independents. They would argue that you can’t evacuate troops just as Iraqis are about to hold national elections and tensions are at their highest. They would point out that it’s insanity to end local reconstruction and Iraqi training efforts just when they are producing results. They would accuse the new administration of reverse-Rumsfeldism, of ignoring postsurge realities and of imposing an ideological solution on a complex situation.

“All dreams of changing the tone in Washington would be gone. All of Obama’s unity hopes would evaporate. And if the situation did deteriorate after a quick withdrawal, as the National Intelligence Estimate warns, the bloodshed would be on the new president’s head.

“Because the Democratic candidates appear to agree on so much, they’ve never tested each other’s policy proposals or exposed each other’s assumptions. But governing means choosing, and reality will be unkind. The artificial unity between the Democratic center and the Democratic left would be smashed by the harsh choices of 2009.”

Remember how Bill Clinton tried to make good his promise to end the ban on gays in the military? His political capitol evaporated faster than you can get an airline clerk to reschedule you after a cancelled flight. Ending the war is more difficult by several orders of magnitude.

Thank you George W. Bush. Your legacy will live on well past January 20, 2009.