Democrats and Republicans face off over Iraq war. Now we are getting somewhere!

In the Senate, Republicans tried to put Democrats on the record as supporting or opposing an amendment -- drafted by Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) but submitted for a vote by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) -- to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, pushed Republicans to condemn a proposal by the newly formed Iraqi government to offer limited amnesty to insurgents who had killed U.S. troops.

Though the day's rhetoric was often partisan in tone, the discontent over the status quo in Iraq was evident on both sides. Dozens of lawmakers spoke emotionally -- recriminations mixed with appeals to patriotism -- on how the nation should proceed in the three-year-old conflict that has become more protracted, deadly and complex than most of them had expected at its outset.

"Let the mudslinging begin!"

My feeling is that the Democrats are on much firmer ground, and that as long as they don't let the Republicans bait them into saying or doing anything stupid, should retake the House and/or Senate without too much difficutly.

Americans are against this war. Most of us, on both sides of the fence, feel that we were not told the truth at the beginning of this conflict and blame the Republican majority for that deception.

So the Republicans will try to portray the Democrats as weak but the Dems need to portray themselves as smart. Too smart to vote for this war. (That leaves Hillary out in the cold as far as a presidential run.)