Deanless

The column definitely has a more in sorrow than in anger tone to it, but it seems that John McCain's Iraq antics have lost David Broder, who apparently was expecting McCain to indicate that there was some level of Iraqi political dysfunction he wouldn't be prepared to tolerate as president.

In the real world, though, if your goal is an enduring American military presence in Iraq, you need political dysfunction. If Iraq were to emerge as a stable country with a government responsive to its citizens' wishes, they'd tell the Americans to take a hike. Its sectarian tensions and instability that make the continued, unpopular presence of a huge number of American boots on the ground viable.