K-Lo, I see that you picked up on Uncle Teddy’s speech, too. Was I the only person who experienced a “suck-in-air” moment of horror when Kennedy announced “Iraq is George Bush’s Vietnam?”

What bothers me isn’t the political attack on Bush, but how the senator’s idea is a slashing blow to the support for the troops. How does he think these soldiers feel being told they are now part of a “Vietnam,” a word which translates into “immoral military action doomed to defeat?” I can’t think of a statement more likely to undermine American soldiers than that claim.

What makes Kennedy’s vicious attack even more outrageous is that it is demonstrably untrue. The progress on the ground in Iraq has been amazing, given the conditions in Iraq one year ago. We aren’t losing in Iraq at all. We are in a war that we have the ability to win.

And Kennedy wants us to surrender. To declare “defeat” and go home. If we keep fighting, and fight smart, we are almost certain to win this war. Bush understands that, which is why Iraq won’t be his Vietnam.

But if the Democrats continue to push defeat as an American policy, it could be theirs.