Bush Finally Calls a Spade a Spade, Sort of

President Bush is at long last replying to Iraq war critics on the Left, primarily in the Democratic party.

From Associated Press via Yahoo!News:

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE - President Bush, heading to Asia with hopes of improving his image on the world stage, hurled a parting shot at Iraq war critics on Monday, accusing some Democrats of "sending mixed signals to our troops and the enemy."

Bush is not entirely correct. The signals are not really mixed, though it's polite of the President to use that euphemism.

Many Democratic strategists would be delighted to see an increase in troop casualties to help them regain power in congress next year, and maybe retake the White House in 2008. Sending "mixed" messages to the troops in an effort to lower morale could also pay off in fewer military absentee ballots being filled out. It's so much less messy to suppress the military vote that way, than trying to disqualify the ballots after they're cast, as the Democrats did in Florida in 2000.