A - Yes, and yes if you listen to the polls. However, anecdotal evidence from my perspective (at work) indicates more and more people are more and more “vocal” about leaving Iraq.
Q - Are the dems blowing their wad on the antiwar minority?
A - I don’t know about that, but Harry Reid is taking positions and that seem to dovetail quite nicely with positions espoused by the anti-war coalition. Pelosi has always been cut from the antiwar cloth. What you DON’T
hear is the other side, at least from the DBM. They need to report news that shows the war in Iraq in an unfavorable light - that is what many citizens read and hear.
Q - Are we going to win in Iraq?
A - It depends how you define “win”. I define win as:
1) an Iraq that is not partitioned and can defend itself against an external aggressor;
2) has a stable government that can make decisions of a strategic nature and support/protect a sustainable national economy;
3) has a workable form of democracy that can be used as a springboard for Iranian dissenters;
4) allows the US to maintain a military presence in Iraq.
and this will take some time (~5 years) to complete. Do I think the U.S. can do that? Yes, but the national will of our elected leadership in Congress appears to be lacking - including several Republicans.
Q - Are we going to pull out of Iraq?
A - If a Democrat is elected President - absolutely. Within 1-2 years, I would expect all but a small number of military and civilian personnel to be pulled from Iraq. If a Republican is elected President - we will stay - but there need to be some solid conservative gains in the Senate as well.
Q - What is the future of this war on terrorists? (har, and buy me a winning lottery ticket!)
A - A concern. Programs (e.g. TSP, etc) that are used to detect and deter terrorism seem to be at the mercy of disclosure via the DBM and also angry government employees (e.g. Department of State, CIA, etc). Career employees who stay regardless of who is President are the machine of these agencies, and they have worked at odds with President Bush and his goals these past six years. Additionaly, the President needs to be more concise and direct in what his goals are in regards to Iraq and terrorism - sometimes I get the impression that his speech or other prepared remarks are too wordsmithed, ostensibly by his staff.
Of course, the real test is - will there be another terrorist attack in the U.S? All that has been done that we know and do not know about - will be measured against that event either occurring or not occurring.
Well my impression is their is a lot of bitching and grousing about Iraq but it is not something that will determine people’s votes in 2008.
I think people grouse about Iraq cause that is all they hear about in the Junk Media but when push comes to shove they are a lot more worried about things like the price of a gallon of gas, or their job security or their next pay raise then they are about Iraq.