Election 2008

A Republican strategist the other day said that Republicans need to stay off the Iraq war, and focus on other issues. Dick Morris said essentially the same thing, summarizing what appears to be the popular wisdom for Presidential aspirants: the American people want to get out of the war now, and if the war is the primary issue in 2008 then the Republicans will lose. The Democrats certainly believe this as they are doing everything they can to position themselves as the party who want to get out of Iraq regardless of consequences..

This is all wrong. Number one, the Republicans cannot run away from the war, they are indissolubly linked with the war. And they can't solve this problem by changing the subject: 100,000+ troops in Iraq cannot and will not be ignored by either the Democrats or the public.

No, what Republicans need to do is what Reagan did: trust in the essential goodness and common sense of the American people. The war in Iraq is a defining moment in the most important battle of the 21st century: that between the forces of liberty and democracy and those of statist totalitarianism. That battle did not end with the fall of communism, it has just morphed into a new version of the 20th century's dream of utopia, now contained within a radical Islamic fascism. Following the lead of the radicals of Al Quaida, all around the world Muslim chauvinists are pressing liberal Western societies to cede their rights to free expression, free association, and private behavior.

The American people are aware of this on some level, and all they need is a leader who will articulate the threat and ask them to take the demanding actions necessary to preserve our freedoms for our children.

John McCain seems to have grasped this, and has apparently centered his campaign on the war -- to the bafflement of the Demcratic establishment who can only see what's happening thru a lens made of polls. But polls by definition reflect the past, they do not tell you what the people will think tomorrow when faced with new events coupled with a leader who can resolutely articulate the truth and a vision for them to follow.

Republicans supported this war from the beginning for the best of reasons, and they need to remember that those reasons are still valid. Winning this war is the right thing to do, the best hope for this country and the world. Ronald Reagan never underestimated the American people's capacity to do the right thing in the 1980's, and the Republicans should not underestimate the electorate in 2008.