Victory And Withdrawal

A reader writes:

I entirely agree with your post on McCain. He's really the only Republican with an actual chance (I'm sorry, Ron Paul is not going to win), who is not running on the "Be Afraid...Be Very Afraid" line. Rather, he sees the problem, and rationally considers options to deal with it.

This is really what I've been saying all along to just about everyone.  The difference between leadership and failed leadership is the difference between shaping policy in light of a crisis and letting crisis become one's policy. It's the latter that let great men like Charles De Gualle successfully extract France from the horrible war in Algeria, and to do so in a calm, rational, and successful way. The imperatives in Iraq are seemingly contradictory: victory, and immediate withdrawal. Any hope of achieving both will require nuanced leadership, not another four to eight years of overarching fear and ignorance.

You're quite right: McCain v. Obama and everyone wins!  Giuliani v. Clinton: I'm gonna go see what Ross Perot is doing these days.