5 Years and Counting

The Iraq War is five years old. What can you say? It has been a dreadful, depressing, costly misadventure, the worst foreign policy disaster in U.S. history.

Trust me: this war is such an albatross around the neck of the Republican party that even if fractious and disorganized Democrats muddle until November 3 before they decide upon a candidate for President, he or she will still win the election.

It is apparent President Bush knew very little going into Iraq, and after five horrendous years with nearly 4,000 lives lost and 60,000 injured, he has learned nothing. How else do you explain the celebratory mood from those who launched the war?

In a Pentagon address marking the anniversary of the Iraq invasion, President Bush was optimistic. He said “the surge” had turned the situation around in Iraq and that the “high cost of lives and treasure” has been worthwhile.

Veep Cheney, fresh from a Baghdad weekend, agreed the war has been “a successful endeavor” and “well worth the effort.”

Republican Presidential nominee John McCain, with loyal Democratic sidekick Joe Lieberman whispering factual corrections in his ear, claims “America and our allies” (whose numbers are dropping faster than the value of the dollar) “stand on the precipice of winning a major victory against radical Islamic extremism.”

Also popping the bubbly are America’s military contractors. They not only have made a fortune off the Iraq War but aided and abetted by the Bush Administration have devised ways to avoid paying taxes. Kellogg Brown & Root, a Halliburton subsidiary, has hauled in more than $16 billion in federal funds, but with a mailing address in the Cayman Islands managed to avoid at least $500 million in U.S. taxes.

To escape government scrutiny, both Halliburton and KBR moved their headquarters to Dubai. Justice Department lawyers have proposed a new rule that would provide for Congressional oversight of U.S. contractors, but the White House slipped in language that would exempt contractors who work overseas. Vermont Rep. Peter Welch is demanding an investigation.

After five years, the war has cost more than $522 billion. That’s a figure we can’t even contemplate. That’s why I’m grateful to Sen. Mary Landrieu for putting “billion” into perspective: “A billion minutes ago, Jesus was alive. A billion days ago, nobody walked on the Earth on two feet.”

Somewhere I read that a Nobel Prize-winning economist estimates the total cost of the Iraq War could top $3 trillion.

Help me out here Mary. A trillion days ago…

What to do? Enjoy!

As the train wreck known as the Democratic Presidential primaries rattles into Pennsylvania, practically the entire party establishment is looking at Chairman Howard Dean and muttering as Oliver Hardy would to Stan Laurel, “this is a fine mess you’ve got us into…”

Fine mess indeed. This could be such a triumph that I have to think Howard planned it this way. Instead of the unforgettable shriek he let loose after the Iowa primary results were in, I expect he is rubbing his hands and chuckling the way leaders do when a great plan comes together.

Everyone knows this is an election where the only way Republicans can win is for Democrats to find a way to lose.

The independent vote that GOP nominee John McCain once attracted is bitterly opposed to a disastrous war that he would pursue for another hundred years. If that weren’t enough, there’s the declining dollar and 4-buck a gallon gas. And it is a given that no incumbent party ever won an election when the economy went into recession on their watch.

So how can Democrats possibly lose? Well, there are problem areas, such as the nasty name-calling that has another two months to run, what to do about Michigan and Florida, and those up-for-grabs super-delegates.

Some Democrats worry that week after week of bitter primaries just might hurt their chances. Real Democrats know this back-and-forth bloodletting generates continuing interest among voters and media while conditioning the eventual winner to withstand whatever muck the GOP swift-boaters throw in the fall.

While it is true that voters like both Obama and Clinton, it is also true that the candidates themselves and their top staff people detest each other (anyone ever involved in a political campaign knows this is true). So forget the “dream ticket” scenario—the eventual nominee is more likely to select Eliot Spitzer as a running mate.

Lots of nasty things have been said about each candidate, mostly by surrogates, but nothing Democrats haven’t heard before. Because of race and gender, epithets are riskier than usual, allowing pundits to find affronts that often don’t exist.

There are Nervous Nellies like Democratic strategist Matt Bennett who is concerned that these attacks “could make our nominee the New York Mets of politics—winning in the spring only to lose in the fall.”

Others fear that with Democrats fighting on and on with no end in sight, while the GOP contest is over, gives McCain a tactical advantage. He has time to relax and shore up his vulnerabilities. Not to worry. His first act was to traipse over to the White House, where he received a toxic embrace from President Bush, providing Democrats with a photo-op that will be featured on millions of “McSame” campaign posters in the fall.

Democrats should be proud of their much-ridiculed party rules. When Howard Dean invalidated nearly two million Democratic votes in Michigan and Florida, he was playing by the rules. Even after all the primaries and caucuses, neither of their extraordinary candidates is likely to have enough pledged delegates to claim the nomination. What saves the day are party rules, enlisting the aid of super-delegates who have been waiting since the1982 DNC convention for the opportunity to exercise their judgment and “do the right thing.” (Those who worry about a “backroom elite” ignoring the wishes of the majority need to understand that super-delegates are savvy, lifelong Democrats who didn’t get where they are by disappointing people.)

Play by the rules. The American Dream is built on the notion that if you play by the rules you’ll get ahead. That hasn’t been true for several years, but that’s why “change” is the dominant theme of this election season.

Only the fighting Democrats are on the media radar these days. The anointed but unloved Republican nominee simply grows older. By November voters may see his name on the ballot and ask: “Who knew?”

Nice going Howard. This time when the results are in, a simple yell of victory will suffice.