Batten Down The Hatches

Here it comes. Washington Post (08.31.06):

"President Bush and his surrogates are launching a new campaign intended to rebuild support for the war in Iraq by accusing the opposition of aiming to appease terrorists and cut off funding for troops on the battlefield, charges that many Democrats say distort their stated positions." Bush Team Casts Foes as Defeatist

Here are the misrepresentations: "that Democrats are promising voters to block additional money for continuing the war", and that "'retreat from Iraq would satisfy the appetite of the terrorists and get them to leave us alone.'" Facts? They don't need no steenkin' facts. When "(p)ressed to support these allegations, the White House yesterday could cite no major Democrat who has proposed cutting off funds or suggested that withdrawing from Iraq would persuade terrorists to leave Americans alone." The line they're taking is that "those are logical interpretations of the most common Democratic position favoring a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq." In other words, they're making it up. Again. Rumor, innuendo, hearsay. Man, the smell of their desperation is so palpable.