Don’t throw those labels away just yet

Arianna Huffington spouts nonsense when she claims that the war in Iraq “is not about right and left. . .” In reality, nearly every leftist wants us to pull out of Iraq straight away, while the vast majority of conservatives opposes that course. Huffington cites conservatives such as Sam Brownback who oppose the troop surge, but she presents no evidence that he’s in the majortiy of among conservatives. Moreover, being opposed to the surge (as I was) is not the same thing as embracing the leftist postiion that we should pull out of Iraq altogether.
If someone is a leftist, you know with virutal certainly that he or she wants us to abandon Iraq. If someone is a conservative, there’s a high probability that he or she does not favor pulling out of Iraq, and there’s a decent likelihood that he or she backs the president’s policy. So how can this not be a “left-right” issue?
Huffington’s serious argument is a different one, namely that so many moderates support abandoning Iraq that politicians like Hillary Clinton should not hestitate to embrace that position. Here, she may be correct. However, Senator Lieberman’s re-election in the very blue state of Connecticut suggests that, at least in a general election and as of now, being on the left when it comes to Iraq (or if Huffington prefers, favoring a quick exit) may not be politically prudent, and that Hillary’s hesitation to set up shop there is understandable.
Via Real Clear Politics
UPDATE: Hillary, Joe Biden, and others may also be worried about what running from Iraq would look like, both as it happens and in the immediate aftermath. If, for example, pro-American Iraqis are slaughtered and al Qaeda gains a stronghold in Anbar province, the fact that Chuck Hagel also advocated cut-and-run won’t give Hillary and Biden much cover.
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