THE ABSENCE OF A THIRD WAY. I had to read this column a couple of times before I could get what exactly David Brooks was trying to say, but as far as I can make out he's mad at the Democrats for not having yet figured out a way to save America from Bush's lies and folly, despite the fact that the president ignores everything they and many members of his own party say. Brooks is also mad at Democrats for not coming up with a strategy for staying in Iraq that's different from the president's strategy for staying in Iraq, when that's not, in fact, what they want to do. Getting out of Iraq is a serious proposal backed by the Iraq Study Group, Democratic leaders, and the majority of the American and Iraqi people. If Brooks disagrees with it he has a top-notch forum for arguing for a third way on his own. But what Brooks wants -- Democrats to save Bush from himself by designing an alternative strategy for staying for him -- is just not going to happen. Their job is to represent the majority of Americans, not save Bush's legacy, and right now America disapproves of Bush's strategy and wants out.
--Garance Franke-Ruta
