Why Does Murtha Fear a 25% President?

In the post-2004 political era, nothing ticks off progressive Democrats more than when politicians allow boldness to be trumped by political calculation.  Voters respect courage, not slogans that went through five focus groups before ever being uttered on camera. 

However, even though there certainly is too much political calculation today, having at least some respect for strategy sure beats not having a brain at all.  Unfortunately, some Democrats appear to lack both boldness and political calculation.  For whatever reason, they are scared of a President whose approval rating is at 25%.  The Democratic House majority is drafting a much weaker Iraq bill that would not require all troops to leave Iraq until Bush says so.  Even John Murtha supports this plan:

Early in the week, rumors  were spreading that Rep. John P. Murtha (Pa.), one of the first pro-war Democrats to turn against the conflict,was apparently prepared to drop the spring deadline for troop pulloutsthat House and Senate Democrats had been demanding for months.Specifics of his plan were hard to come by, and even Democratic leaderswere in the dark.

Since the surge began, the political and military situations have grown more unstable.  So if anything, Democrats like Murtha should be asking for more demands than they did a few months ago, not less.