Who is not going to be convinced by the facts?Fred Barnes
writes:
... McConnell believes Democrats will ignore it. "The Democrats are not going to have an epiphany. They are not going to be convinced by whatever the facts are."
McConnell said he doesn't know what Petraeus will say in September, but he expects Bush to be "extremely influenced" by his report. The president has said the same thing, calling Petraeus the "most credible" person in the country on assessing progress in Iraq. "That argument has been strong enough," he said, to prevent serious Republican defections. "Never has a military report been more anxiously awaited."
Republicans anxiously await the report that will (a) allow them to say they support Bush and the war - satisfying the base, and (2) allow them to blame Petraeus when things deteriorate further.
Until then, here's how it's going to play out. Petraeus will be declared the official supplier of "the facts", which will paint a positive picture. Republicans will applaud. Democrats will be charged with ignoring the good news. And that's how it will likely be for another six months following September.
posted by Quiddity at 7/22/2007 07:23:00 AM
You are correct. The report has been written, most likely by Rove, and vetted around. I wonder if the good general even knows yet what Rove has told him to say.
In form, I think Clinton was a clear winner, followed by Edwards and then Obama. In form, I'd give it to the unwinnables: Gravel and Kucinich. I thought the format was terrible and contributed to the dumbing down of discourse in America.
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