Waiting for the surge to work

What really shocks me about these things -

1) The President has said repeatedly that we need to wait until September for the surge to show its effects.

2) Democrats repeatedly are trying to get the United States to commit to a withdrawal prior to that date.

Maybe I'm really, really cynical, but the most logical reason I see for all of this is that the Democrats are afraid that waiting until September will mean waiting for the surge to work and that would destroy their chances at getting elected next year. Why they'd fund things until July and then see "how things are going" can only be answered one way - the administration can't guarantee progress between now and July. They need until September. The extra couple months might be the difference between winning and losing in Iraq and the Democrats seem afraid to grant that time.

Bush Would Veto Democrats' New Iraq Bill
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush would veto a bill drafted by House Democratic leaders that would fund the Iraq war only into the summer months, his spokesman said Wednesday.

The Democrats' proposal would pay for the war through July, then give Congress the option of cutting off money after that if conditions do not improve. Bush requested more than $90 billion to fund the war through September.

"There are restrictions on funding and there are also some of the spending items that were mentioned in the first veto message that are still in the bill," White House press secretary Tony Snow said on Air Force One traveling with Bush.

Asked directly if Bush would veto the House bill in its current form, Snow said, "Yes."

Bush vetoed an earlier bill because it set deadlines for U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq.