Democrats Willing to Compromise on Iraq
With a mixed picture emerging about progress in Iraq, Senate Democratic leaders are showing a new openness to compromise as they try to attract Republican support for forcing at least modest troop withdrawals in the coming months.
Why is it every time I see a headline like the one above, I think, "Jellyfish". Probably because so far, comprimise from the Democrats has meant giving Bush whatever he's asking for.
Some Democrats have concluded that their decision earlier this summer to thwart votes on alternatives left them open to criticism that they were being intransigent.
And yet being totally intransigent is the one strength Bush and his supporters have left, and is the reason that Bush's historically low approval ratings are still higher than Congress'. (Why being intransigent on a policy that isn't working is considered a strength, I can't answer.)
Generally, being willing to compromise is a good thing, but it takes both sides. When Bush refuses to compromise and the Democrats compromise away their position, they just look like a bunch of weak-willed, spineless jellyfish. Agree with their position or not, it is really hard to respect people who prove unwilling to fight for what they supposedly believe in.
