The Bush Administration is accused of never admitting mistakes, though the President did, in fact, acknowledge last year that the hope of prevailing In Iraq with relatively small forces was misplaced; and hence the "Surge". John McCain claims credit for being right all along on that point, and I don't see anyone disputing him.
How about the Left; will they admit errors on Iraq? Pete Wehner, now at Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington after years on the policy staff of the White House, has written an opinion piece that asks this question with concussive force. What he says about the columnist Tom Friedman is especially apt. The media that have done everything they could to besmirch President Bush may now start to change their representation of reality--because they must--without ever taking back their harsh previous judgements.
Pertinently, Sen. Obama now seems to be changing his most crucial views on the war, which is all to the good.
What is not acceptable is continuing to play "Blame Bush," while pretending that we are winning in Iraq through chance or someone else's efforts. That is the kind of thing the Left tried with Reagan and the end of the Cold War. History, fortunately, will be more dispassionate.
