Realism = Patriotism

A new ad from the DNC asks of President Bush: "How can you solve problems... when you won't even admit they're there?" This administration can't find enough roses to cover the smell of disaster coming out of Iraq. Still, my jaw drops when I hear this kind of bizarro fantasy-talk:

"You know, every step of the way in Iraq there have been pessimists and hand-wringers who said it can't be done," [White House spokesman Scott] McClellan said. "And every step of the way, the Iraqi leadership and the Iraqi people have proven them wrong because they are determined to have a free and peaceful future."

Pessimists and hand-wringers like the National Intelligence Council, who recently issued a classified National Intelligence Estimate that paints a grim picture of Iraq's future. The report projects three possible outcomes: achievement of a tenuous stability by the end of next year; increased extremism and the fragmentation of Iraqi society; and civil war.

President Bush, in his swaggering stump speeches, fails to mention the over 1,000 Americans who've sacrificed their lives for his administration's incompetence in Iraq. He fails to mention that rebels control several regions in Iraq, breeding grounds for the next generation of al-Qaeda. He fails to mention that American taxpayer dollars aren't rebuilding democracy in Iraq, they're barely preventing the country from sliding into chaos.

In short, President Bush fails to acknowledge that we're losing the Iraq War.

We are less safe. We're in more debt. We've lost and outsourced our jobs. The dazzlingly inaccurate picture painted by the White House is a disgraceful disservice to our country, and we deserve better.

  • 'He's just sleeping, I kept telling myself'