Hillary Versus The Pentagon: Smackdown!

So Mike Barnacle was joshing with his guests on Hardball this evening about the kerfuffle between Hillary and the Pentagon over her query concerning contingency plans for "withdrawal" from Iraq. (I put "withdrawal" is in quotes, because she's actually planning redeployment to permanent bases--don't ever forget it.)

Anyway, it seems Eric Edelman--current Under Secretary for Defense Policy, former top aide to Dick Cheney--answered her query with a letter implying that her request was pretty much lending aid and comfort to the enemy (the definition of treason).

Hillary struck back, big time outrage!

What Mike and his guests were joshing about was how all this enhances Hill's chances of winning the primaries--positioning her, at long last, as facing down the Bushies on a war she actually voted for to begin with and has refused to concede error on ever since.

Mike signed off the segment with a joke about how Edelman et. al. are probably driving around with "Hillary!" bumper stickers on their SUVs. Cute, but here's a fact: of all the Democratic candidates it is Hillary who is most likely to redeem the Bush Iraq legacy if she wins the presidency. You think Rupert Murdoch doesn't know who he's getting cozy with?