Duncan, who keeps track of these things, notes that the six-month crowd is driving yet another news cycle. The Beltway journalists, whose collective institutional memory has a three-month span, are eating it all up with a spoon:
We have a big problem. The dominant view among the in crowd in Washington is that the next 6 months is a critical time in Iraq. As it has always been. They’re all Tom Friedman now. Maybe they’re right this time. From a pure policy perspective I really don’t know what to do about Iraq. I don’t know how to unshit the bed. Staying in might make more sense if our country wasn’t run by emotional 5-year-olds and the stupidest fucking people on the face of the planet. From a purely political perspective I’d have more confidence if the six monthers understood that six months from now is election day. Pre- or post- election day what will they say when yet another six months has passed? Do they even give it any thought? I fear not. They just keep punting the issue downfield. Bush has already said he’s leaving it to his successor, which sadly means that anyone who wants to be his successor is by definition even more nuts than presidential candidates usually have to be to want the job.
