Fiddling With Politics While Baghdad Burns

Josh Marshall asks readers about Bush and McCain's plans to send up to 30,000 more troops to Iraq. Here's my two cents' worth:

Nobody wants 20,000 more troops in Iraq and I don't believe it is going to happen. I think Bush and McCain are trying to wash their hands of the mess by coming up with an alternative they know full well is unacceptable.

After some theatrics, they will reluctantly agree to go along with a more reasonable plan. Then, when people point fingers, they can say, "Well, my plan was 20,000 more troops, but that was rejected."

These guys realize there are no good options left, and plenty of finger-pointing yet to be done. McCain is planning a 2008 campaign, Bush is safe-guarding his "legacy" as the rootinnest, tootinnest gun-swinger to ever suck down a root beer in the White House saloon.

The tragedy is that these supposed "leaders" continue ignoring others' suffering, and failing in their duties to both the US and Iraqi people, while placing their own agendas first.