Barack Obama joins the Senate Handwringing Caucus

"We can't do anything....we don't have the votes."

Thus spake the Congressional Democratic Handwringing Caucus. But while the latter part of the statement is, alas, still true, the former isn't.

After last night's speech, it's clear that George W. Bush's plan for Iraq is to continue his life's pattern and leave his fuckup for someone else to clean up; in this case, it's whoever succeeds him in office. Let's just assume for a moment that the Democrats don't blow it (and I know it's a huge assumption) and the next president is a Democrat. It's going to be that president who gets painted with the brush of the escaping people clinging to ladders on helicopters as they're airlifted out of a bloodbath. It won't matter that George Bush invaded a country that had nothing to do with attacking us. What will matter, because Americans have such short memories, is that a Democratic president "lost Iraq." And thus George Walker Bush's legacy will be secured -- or so he thinks.

But there is a way to get him to own at least part of this war after he leaves office, and that is to send him one bill after another requiring -- not asking nicely, but requiring -- a timetable and strategy for withdrawal from Iraq. And when he vetoes it, send him another one. And another, and another, and another. Make the Republicans go on record supporting this disaster of a president and his disaster of a war. Of course this means the gasbags on the right will call the Democrats "obstructionists", but so what? Yes, it's political theatre that don't move the war any closer to ending. But at least it dumps it in the lap of its perpetrator, where it belongs.

Now Barack Obama has joined this handwringing caucus of whiners:

Despite the Iraq war's unpopularity, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that Congress lacks the votes to force a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops and will focus instead on putting a ceiling on the number deployed.

"One way of ending the war would be setting a timetable. We're about 15 votes short. Right now it doesn't look like we're going to get that many votes," Obama said, referring to the number needed to override an expected veto by President Bush.

The Illinois senator said the most likely scenario would be to grant troops more time at home between deployments, a politically popular step that's difficult to oppose and one that would have a practical impact.

"You have to at least give people a one-year break for every year served in Iraq," Obama said. "At least that would put a ceiling on how many troops could be sent there at any given time."

In his speech before about 300 people at a park in this eastern Iowa town of 6,100 people, Obama focused on his plan to begin pulling troops out of Iraq immediately and complete the withdrawal by the end of next year.

Later, at a town hall-style meeting in Anamosa, Obama vowed to press Congress to confront the president. Voters, Obama argued, are demanding action and candidates must spell out their views clearly.

"They are very frustrated over a disastrous war," said Obama. "I think it's very important for everybody to take home a record of where these candidates stand on this war."

Yes it is, Senator. But right now, until and unless you take the oath of office on January 20, 2009, your plan doesn't mean jack. You and Mrs. Clinton need to find your balls, whether biological or metaphorical, and pressure the Democrats to stop whining about how you don't have the votes and make this president take ownership of this war. Send him a bill with a timetable. And when he vetoes it, tell the American people what he's done. Tell the American people that Republicans want to continue this pointless war forever. Remind them that John Boehner, who is safe at home and whose children are safe at home, said that no sacrifice of other people's children is too much to ask for contining this war indefinitely.

Because if you dont...if you and Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats in Congress continue to get up and whine that you don't have the votes to override a presidential veto, mark my words -- YOU and the rest of the Democrats WILL own this war on January 20, 2009.