Harry Reid started off well on This Week with George Stephanopoulos this morning, answering a question about Iraq by saying, "We have to change course in Iraq, that was determined on November 7th and the people feel even more strongly today than they did on November 7th. By the first quarter of 2008, American troops should be out of there." But then the segment, to borrow from a recent but already dead report, became grave and deteriorating. Stephanopoulos asked what Reid would do if the president -- as he's expected to -- calls for even more troops to be sent to Iraq.
"If it's part of a program to get us out of there as indicated by this time next year, then sure I'll go along with it," he said.
To which Stephanopoulos rightly asked: "How will you know that it's going to be temporary?"
Of course, Reid doesn't know that. Nor did Reid even broach the question whether the so-called "surge" is the right thing to do if it were to last a single day.
The senator was right about one thing, though, and that's the message that the American people sent on November 7th -- that they want to end this war and end it quickly.
And yes, I have no doubt that when Bush presents his "surge" plan, or "New Way Forward," or whatever meaningless term he's going to call it, he'll present it in the most sugar-coated way possible.
Part of what has enabled this disastrous war from the beginning has been the willful delusion about who George Bush is and how he operates. Harry Reid will go along with my plan if I tell him it's "temporary"? Fine, Harry, "the plan is temporary." But only someone with a surge of insanity would go along with this.
Which is why the public voted the way it did in November and why only 12% of Americans support this "surge." George Bush has no intention of pulling the troops out. The only thing this surge will accomplish is a surge of more death and destruction.
Harry Reid began his segment today by talking about the health of South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson. We all of course wish Senator Johnson a speedy recovery, but one of the reasons why his health has been the subject of so much attention is because of the possibility of the Senate going back into Republican hands. If Senator Reid's idea of leadership is to trust President Bush on yet another last ditch effort --however temporary-- to "fix" Iraq, it apparently doesn't matter which party controls the Senate.
As the old saying goes, there is nothing so permanent as a temporary solution. Except President Bush's incompetence, willful denial of reality and refusal to listen to the will of the American people. We don't need a surge of those any more than we need a surge of troops in Iraq.
Here's hoping Senator Reid comes to his senses.