Sully and Hitch

I'm not inclined to be partial to what either of these guys have to say, but I have to give them credit for their honesty and directness in this spot which should have had somebody other than Paula Zahn asking the questions, breathlessly going "But John Kerry! But John Kerry!"



Andrew Sullivan is right. Leaving an abducted soldier, abandoning him to Shiite militia behind enemy lines is an outrage. It's maybe as great an outrage as I've seen in Iraq. How can any upstanding member of the military approve of this President or his enablers after he left one of their own to die in Sadr City?

And how could any member of the military support a party whose Majority Leader blames them for the situation in Iraq?

House Majority Leader John Boehner: Wolf, I understand that, but let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld.

Wolf Blitzer: But he's in charge of the military.

House Majority Leader John Boehner: But the fact is the generals on the ground are in charge and he works closely with them and the president.

This wasn't a bad joke. This was the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives saying Donald Rumsfeld doesn't have control of the military, and it's the generals' fault (and by extension the troops) for the failures in that country. The Secretary of Defense doesn't control the military? The commander-in-chief is not to blame for military action? Is this a democracy or a junta?

Harry Reid and Howard Dean pounced on this and they were right too. But I'd prefer to keep talking about policy. And the fact is that the President, and his enablers in Congress, ARE accountable for the war in Iraq. And on November 7th they will be held to account.