Murtha

The Bush/Rove/Cheney machine has shown time and again its disdain for public opinion, the Constitution and history of the republic, but there is one thing that they cannot work around, one person who they simply do not have the power to discredit, one force that they cannot roll over, simply due to the fact that he has two cards that this administration cannot trump: moral authority and nothing to lose.

John Murtha is 74 years old. He has two purple hearts and a bronze star. He has no political ambitions beyond his current service in Congress. He is the Pentagon's man. No matter how hard Cheney, Brit Hume and the Fox News attempt to smear him, he is supported at the highest level of the military as a long standing friend. He spends his afternoons at Walter Reed.

Today in the Journal, in a breathless article that attempts to point to a growing rift in the Democratic ranks with regards to their use of the power of the purse, the best that they can do to highlight opposition to Murtha is to quote Rahm Emmanuel. Emmanuel is the Democratic caucus chairman, a political operative and poll watcher. He exists only to gauge the elusive public sentiment and by definition, to split the middle on questions of national importance. He can say what he wants, but he lacks everything that Murtha already has.

Murtha's plan is simple: Bush doesn't get the money without providing some accountability towards properly training the troops, and without some restrictions on the madness of extending current combat tours. Britt Hume can call him senile until the cows come home, and Michelle Malkin can call him a traitor, but they cannot stop the train, because it's left the station: 58% of the public supports this simple plan. That number will grow.

When the final reviews of the Boy King's reign are written, John Murtha will have a prominent role.