The Moral Edge

Vice President Cheney's supposed accusation that the peacnik criticism of the war and press for exit harms troop morale finds accord with Americans. According to a recent poll conducted by a bipartisan duo, 75% of the surveyed believe that second guessing the war damages troop morale.

Daily Kos and several other blogs have already doubted the survey's credibility and promised a biting review.

The Daily Kos's also responded that Cheney never made any such claim about "troop morale."

Even it he's right, other Conservative hawks and military officials certainly have been saying that Democrats and negative media coverage are causing troops to loose hope. A Nov. 20 WashPost article: "In questioning the justification for the war, Bush and his lieutenants said, the Democrats were undermining troop morale and sending a message of weakness to the enemy."

But anways, who cares if Americans agree that criticism hurts troop morale? It doesn't follow that Americans don't also want to bail from Iraq; it doesn't follow that the war is not worth criticizing or that demoralizing the troops temporarily isn't a cost worth preserving somethleing more valuable, American integrity and smart foreign policy.