One must ask, what is it that the Republicans are drinking, or smoking, that has created some sort of time distillation vortex around their heads.

Yesterday House GOP leader John Boehner said…

“General Petraeus just received the full reinforcements he was promised, and to condemn his plan to failure before it has ample time to succeed is not in the best interests of our troops or the security of our country.”

Ample time?

But it was 6 months ago, back in January that John Boehner also said…

“I think it’ll be rather clear in the next sixty to ninety days as to whether this plan’s going to work.”

So it got me to thinking, haven’t we heard this song before?   

Haven’t we been told, for over 4 years now,  that success is just around the corner?  You know, just another 60-90 days, 6 months, 9 months down the road?

So I did a little research, this has been going on for years…

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), July 3, 2003…”I think the next few months will be crucial.”

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Sept. 10, 2003…”We may be going through a series of weeks and months that are crucial.”

President Bush, May 24, 2004 “The next six to seven months are critical.”

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), July 22, 2004, “Iraq now faces a critical moment.”

Retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, July 18, 2005, “I think the next nine months are critical.”

U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton, Aug. 4, 2005, “I think the next 18 months are crucial.”

National security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, Nov. 10, 2005, “We are entering a make-or-break six-month period.”

Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), Nov. 17, 2005, “This is a critical time in Iraq.”

On and on and on….  Success in Iraq is always just around the corner.

Of course the biggest vortex swirls around the head of New York Times columnist Tom Friedman,  whose concept of time is stuck in the perpetuality of “just 6 more months”  So much so that a new unit of measurement “The Friedman Unit” has been named after him.

So as we sail into August, and the Iraq Progress Report comes out,  be prepared to hear more of the same,  how we need just _____ more time,  and if you don’t support giving _____ more time,  well then, by golly you’re just a “cut and runner” who doesn’t support the troops.

The only question is; will the American people still buy this nonsense?  

Stay tuned.