WENDELL ROBINSON . COM

President Bush and congressional leaders met yesterday to discuss funding of the war in Iraq and while they appeared civil to one another during the hour-long discussion, it appears they left the meeting as divided (if not more so) as they were before the meeting started. If you want my opinion, both sides are guilty of playing politics on an issue that neither is truly willing to resolve. They are more interested in partisan positioning than winning a war, and they certainly don’t have the kind of backbone to weather the public opinion storm to be true to the principals they espouse.

I often scratch my head when I look at the America my generation (and those to follow) will inherit from our forebearers. This gallant country of ours which rose from the depths of British colonialism to the height of being the world’s only superpower in the span of a two and a half centuries now seems to be afraid of its own internal shadow. This country that once stood for honor and commitment has in the last fifty years become a country that can’t finish what it starts - Korea ended in a stalemate that still haunts us today, Vietnam demonstrated that American willpower is not nearly as strong as an entrenched and committed enemy, and now the Middle East and the Islamo-facists that litter that region are using the lessons that history taught in those two conflicts to once again get the better of the good ol’ USA. I can only wonder what my daughter and the those that follow her will inherit from us.

Even though I was against the war in Iraq before it started, I’ve been a supporter of our efforts there since for one simple reason, we created this mess and it’s our responsibility to fix it. Democrats are as culpable in this quagmire as are Republicans. Both parties voted to authorize the President to go into Iraq. Nobody held a gun to their heads, they voted and he acted. Unfortunately now, nobody (except for folks like Joe Lieberman, John McCain and the President) has the stones to stick it out. And how are Joe, John and George treated by the general public? Pariahs at best, and criminals at worst. Simply because they believe it is our responsibility to clean up after ourselves.

Perhaps the Democrats who are VERY LIKELY to gain the White House in 2008 will seriously consider Conman Dennis Kucinich’s idea of a Department of Roll-over and Play Dead. It would seem that given the way things are heading this might be the next step in our demise. It’s just another step in our country’s slide toward failure.

If the United States has any interest in getting to a third century of existence, we better develop some backbone and the situation in Iraq is just the place to do it.