Remind everyone Bush is cheating on the rules protecting the soldiers

The other night on Letterman, Hillary said it is time to start bringing troops home. She and the other Democratic candidates could put better political cards in their hand by reminding everyone of the soldiers whose tours have been extended, as well as the National Guard people who signed up expecting to be ready to protect people in their own state, not some place halfway across the world. The extended tours is how they are augmenting the occupation force for the “surge.” There is a sense of unfairness to all this that even bothers most conservatives who are suckers for the “support the troops” mantra. Play on it. Force the Republicans who don’t give a crap about soldiers who have been extended to 15 months, with less home time in between, to defend themselves.

If we want to support the troops, letting the soldiers come home who have been forced to extend their tours is the first step we should take. At the very least, they deserve to be treated properly under the Pentagon’s own rules. It’s time to start letting the National Guard come back to their home states, too. If we can’t put enough forces there without cheating on the rules designed to protect them, so George Bush and Dick Cheney can avoid being embarrassed for the mess they’ve created, then that should tell us something. It tells us there is no more good we can accomplish there, and it’s time to put our forces where they can do some good.

Before they can shout “cut and run,” remind America that the Republicans who can't pull the trigger on the right thing to do are letting overextended American soldiers buck up their sagging egos.