The Washington Post reports this morning on an interview with House Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn. While Clyburn covered a lot of ground, the item that has attracted the most attention is Clyburn’s acknowledgment that a positive report from General Petraeus on Operation Phantom Thunder could be “a real big problem” for Democrats:
It’s unfortunate that it requires political calculation for Clyburn to arrive at the correct position–t should be obvious that the right thing to do is to wait for the assessment of the commander on the ground. That said, Clyburn’s remarks are another indication that the debate on Iraq may be shifting. Some of the Blue Dogs have been consistently reluctant to second-guess the generals on the ground. For example, ten Democrats voted against a resolution calling for withdrawal from Iraq by April. It would take just 16 Democrats–in combination with the entire Republican caucus–to defeat a timetable for withdrawal. And given that even people like Keith Ellison and Jerry McNerney are seeing signs of progress, it might not be difficult for disciplined House Republicans to win a majority.
And how are Clyburn’s comments being greeted on the Left? So far, there’s a lot of silence. But one liberal site is ignoring Clyburn’s plain words in favor of something that fits the paradigm–where good news from Iraq is impossible, and people like Keith Ellison and David Petraeus can only be liars or dupes:
Watch the interview and see if you agree.
