"SERIOUS" PEOPLE, LIKE KERREY: BAD FOR AMERICA

(Via Atrios)

Former Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey was interviewed by Bill Moyers on June 1, 2007 and shows what a bunch of lunkheads we have the party.

This pissed me off:

BILL MOYERS: What a paradox, that the Democrats appear to capitulate, while the Republicans start talking about the Fall being a time to get out. Are the Democrats going to be hoisted on their own petard?

BOB KERREY: Well, they could be, because it-- it appears to be a capitulation. It's not a capitulation. They were-- the-- the Democrats were faced with this. The President vetoes the supplemental that calls for timetables. And what do they do? Send him another bill that he vetoes? That supplemental funds the troops. So at some point, you either just keep sending him bills that he vetoes and score points with your base, or you do the right thing. And I think they did the right thing by sending the President a bill that he will sign. They made their point, that they would prefer to have timetables.

First, it WAS a capitulation. The American people, not just the Democratic base, wanted a timeline! 4 ABC/Wapo polls this year found that a majority think we should withdraw even before stability is achieved. In late June, a CBS News poll found that 40% wanted to remove all our troops and an additional 26% wanted a troop reduction. All Kerrey did here was reinforce the wingnut meme that the base of the Dem party is out of touch with America.

Kerrey goes on to show his ignorance of the conditions in Iraq:

BOB KERREY: But what I'm saying, first of all, is that you've got to get the debate about we have an-- we have an ally in Iraq, a government of Iraq that has asked for our help. What's our answer? Do we help?

There is no real sense that the Iraqi government is our ally. As Cordesman pointed out, Maliki refuses to even attempt to make the political changes necessary to begin moving towar reconciliation:

"One of the most critical problems is the prime minister’s office. ... had been involved in the support of Shi’ite ethnic cleansing, that in had intervened in detainment or military operations against Shi’ite militias, that it had refused to act in moving forward in areas where the prime minister had direct authority in bringing Sunnis and Sunni tribal elements into the government and into the security structure."

Further, there have been reports of tremendous friction between Maliki and Petraeus:

Heated exchanges mark consultations among prime minister, U.S. officials in Iraq
The Associated Press
Published: July 27, 2007

BAGHDAD: A key aide says Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's relations with U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus are so poor the Iraqi leader may ask Washington to withdraw the well-regarded U.S. military leader from duty here.

The Iraqi foreign minister calls the relationship "difficult."

First word of strained relations began leaking out with consistency earlier this month.

Sami al-Askari, an key aide to al-Maliki and a member of the prime minister's Dawa Party, said the policy of including one-time Sunni insurgents in the security forces shows Petraeus has a "real bias and it bothers the Shiites. It is possible that we may demand his removal."

A lawmaker from the al-Sadr bloc, who refused use of his name fearing the party would expel him over his continued close ties to al-Maliki, said the prime minister has complained to U.S. President George W. Bush about the policy of arming Sunnis.

"He told Bush that if Petraeus continues doing that he would arm Shiite Militias. Bush told al-Maliki to calm down," according to the lawmaker who said he was told of the exchange by al-Maliki.

The lawmaker said al-Maliki once told Petraeus: "I can't deal with you any more. I will ask for someone else to replace you."