Time to take a stand

Paul Krugman of the NY Times tells Democrats that the time for wavering is over. When General Petraeus delivers his report on Iraq in the next weeks, he's afraid there won't be much debate.

Here’s what I’m afraid will happen: Democrats will look at Gen. Petraeus’s uniform and medals and fall into their usual cringe.

Instead, Krugman says "get us out." He offers five reasons why Democrats should stop crumbling in front of Bush's handpicked military men.

1. First, no independent assessment has concluded that violence in Iraq is down.
2. Second, Gen. Petraeus has a history of making wildly overoptimistic assessments of progress in Iraq
3. Third, any plan that depends on the White House recognizing reality is an idle fantasy.
4. Fourth, the lesson of the past six years is that Republicans will accuse Democrats of being unpatriotic no matter what the Democrats do.
5. Finally, the public hates this war and wants to see it ended.