The dems didn't lose their nerve .. they never had any!
They only voted for the war because it was politically correct!
I think it is actually more devious than that. They supported going to war so that by later switching sides and labeling it George Bush's war they can destroy home front support and engineer a defeat for Bush...basically the same game plan they employed in vietnam. It was the democrats who put us into nam, escalated the conflict and prevented our forces from going for a victory. When Nixon became president in 68, it suddenly became "Nixon's war".