People think this is

[ProSense]

a game! The debate on the Senate floor was real. Iraq is really in a civil war. There are no buts.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2438151&mesg_id=2438353

[Mass]

1. People cannot even bother reading an article. The title is as misleading

as can be.

Edwards is proposing that the troups start to leave now and that may be finish in 12-18 months. No different from what the dems are proposing as general, at least in the Senate (except a few like Lieberman).

Starting there, why are they so excited. Because they see this as a way to promote their candidate (just as we do sometimes).

[Mass]

2. Disingenuous post of the month?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2438151&mesg_id=2438454

Happy to see that a couple people have taken the time to read the article. I am not even criticizing Edwards for what he is proposing, but people are so intent supporting their candidates that they cannot be honest.

I hope we are not like that, because this is really sad.

[ProSense]

3. No one gave much thought

to a real withdrawal plan until JK formalized his Path Forward detailed strategy in October.

[JI7]

4. and later if/when he says Iraq is in a civil war

they will say finally someone is telling the truth about what is going on.

[fedupinBushcountry]

5. The thing is

if this was John Kerry he would be accused of pandering to the anti-war crowd.

I wish the Dems would get behind a real plan, but instead they are so busy trying to outdo one another (example:Biden, Edwards). The 2 Dems (Kerry, Feingold) that may run in '08 have joined together for the sake of our troops not for political gain.

[JohnKleeb]

6. Double standards sigh, they'll be the death of us

Good for Kerry and Feingold honestly. Those who are doing the rivalry game are exactly why our party gets accused of not having a decisive plan for Iraq and foreign policy.

[fedupinBushcountry]

7. Exactly right

it makes me so mad.

[JohnKleeb]

9. It gives the talking heads

leverage to say "the Democrats don't have a plan for Iraq, they're not united." etc. Well if everyone exempting Feingold and Kerry didn't seem to have an agenda of their own than they just might. Biden's the kind of guy I do NOT want to be president, I think he's a decent senator but I would not want him to be president because he's too much in love with the sound of his own voice, Hiliary wants to cozy with the left and right, she should try being herself. Bah who would want to be a politican these days with the double standards and lies people on your own side spread.

[TayTay]

8. The Iraq war has long since passed being about mere politics

I think it is dawning on people in both parties that Iraq is a devastating situation that holds only disaster and pain for the United States. I think Sen. Hagel's remarks on this early in the week are just the beginning of what is going to be a wholesale run away from this war by everyone but the Administration.

I am pleased that Sen. Edwards has called for withdrawal. We need more voices pushing this Administration to acknowledge the obvious and begin to change their strategies and course. I am glad he issued his call.

Because you are right Mass, this is no game. Sen. Kerry has repeatedly said, with obvious pain in his voice, that politics used to end at the water's edge. On an issue as fundamental as our involvement in Iraq, I welcome all voices that speak to sanity. So I'm not going to play politics with it either. Welcome to the side of sanity Sen. Edwards. May many, many more follow.

[wisteria]

10. I welcome the voice, but question the motives, if it isn't

about politics with Edwards, why not speak of Kerry and his plan? Edwards doesn't speak of anything that Kerry hasn't already.

[TayTay]

11. Sen. Edwards not only voted for the war, but he

floor-managed the IWR for the Dems. He needs to be forceful in renouncing his vote.

Sigh! The press identifies the withdrawal plan with Sen. John Kerry. People like Joe Klein, the sleazy 'liberal' writer for Time Magazine, said John Kerry was slowly imploding and basically accused Kerry of going quietly and slowly bonkers over this. The Republicans in Congress, when they viciously attacked the withdrawal plans being put forward in June, basically ignored the Levin/Reed plan to focus on Senator John Kerry and nearly fell all over each other in a rush to the microphones to denounce the taller Senator from Massachusetts for being a 'cut and run' person. The various spokespeople for the Bush Administration explicitly talked about Senator John Kerry when they went out of their way to deride withdrawal plans. Karl Rove specifically named John Kerry when he questioned the bravery of the people in Congress who wanted a withdrawal. Ken Mehlman, GOP Chairman, not only disparaged John Kerry by name this week for his support for withdrawal, but he even managed to work in a reference to Davos and the fact that Senator Kerry was in Switzerland when he issued the call for a filibuster of Judge Alito back in January. (Mehlman and certain Rethug Senators can't get enough of bringing up Davos. It's their special form of put-down for John Kerry.) And so on and so on and so on.

So tell me, what part of the withdrawal is not associated with the Senator from Massachusetts? Which Republicans in Congress are not aware of Senator Kerry's position on this issue? Which media pundits are not aware that the 2004 Nominee of the Democratic Party for President of the United States has called for a withdrawal of troops from the Iraq theater of operations with all deliberate speed as soon as feasible, given safety concerns? What part of Sen. John Edwards calling for a withdrawal will change John Kerry getting vilified in Congress by the Rethugs. What part of Edwards calling for withdrawal will make the pundits forget that this is Sen. Kerry's position? Cuz, I ain't seeing it.

Given all of that, am I worried that Sen. Edwards may get a little credit for calling for withdrawal. Ahm, no. Welcome to the loyal opposition Senator. We'll make room for you on the bench.