The Politics Behind GOP Defections

Republican senators were playing electoral politics in deserting Bush on Iraq, and they were at it again when they voted against the Democratic withdrawal plan this week, says the Journal’s Kimberly A. Strassel. Enduring “a summer-long blitz” from liberal groups, Lugar, Domenici and others voiced Iraq fatigue, but with their base in mind, they’ve gauged their retreats closely.

The defectors are hoping the White House will announce a medium-term drawdown after a vaguely optimistic military report drops in September. Strassel accuses senators playing the conscience card of an "action-inaction strategy" that amounts to little more than counting “backward from November 2008.” (More troop withdrawal stories.)