I have learned in business negotiations that in order to understand your opposition, you must be able to think like them. In the case of most Republicans, it is especially true since facts do not matter to them. They always have a Machiavellian mindset when it comes to issues that they are willing to separate themselves from the President. The latest round of this strategy is the breaking from the ranks of Senate Republicans, McCain, Graham, and Warner about the Geneva accords related to humane treatment of prisoners of war. I would also include in this façade Colin Powell who was the messenger of false intelligence to the U.N. leading to the invasion of Iraq.
This strategy of separating from the President on the false issue of non-combatants is by the design of Carl Rove and the Republican strategists. Remember that their goal is to retain control of Congress by diverting the attention from the incompetence of their handling of the war in Iraq. We all know that prisoners of war should be treated humanely according to the Geneva accords. When it comes to enemy non-combatants, the inference is that they are terrorists. And for the average American, humane treatment for terrorists is not a winning issue. In fact, it is a big loser.
It never ceases to amaze me how Democrats are so naïve about issues that the Republicans set as their agenda. In dealing with any adversary, especially a ruthless one, you must set the agenda yourself and ignore the traps that are being set. Bush has had an increase in his ratings recently as a result of deflecting the Iraq war and focusing on the issue of terrorism. The knee jerk reaction of Democrats to an obvious bait and switch is very disappointing and they fall for it every time. The Democrats must gain some understanding of which issues are worthy of debate in the context of how the voting public will view it. And Bush will always be a winner in his "briar patchs", which are terrorism and the terrorists. The Democrats should not be diverted from their winning issues, which are Iraq, health care, income disparity, and the deficit. Democrats should emphasize where they are in disagreement with Republicans and not seek bi-partisanship with some Republicans before the mid-term elections. The time for collegiality for the Democrats is when they are in control after the election.