Jonah and Tom Get It On Iraq

Jonah Goldberg and Tom Bevan each realize that the success of the surge is actually a bad thing for Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and good for Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). A point I made over a month ago. Welcome to the party gentlemen.  You're a bit late, but there's still food at the buffet tables.

Goldberg says:

But the tragic Catch-22 for the Arizona senator is that the more the surge succeeds, the more politically advantageous it is for Obama.
Voters don't care about the surge; they care about the war. Americans want it to be over -- and in a way they can be proud of.

And Bevan brings up some recent Quinnipiac polls:

MI: Economy 56, Iraq 18
CO: Economy 47, Iraq 19
MN: Economy 51, Iraq 21
WI Economy 50, Iraq 20

As I said in June, the surge has put Iraq largely out of the minds of the electorate. People are concerned about other things. McCain needs to concentrate on the things the people are concerned about.

Actually, I would dispute even those Quinnipiac polls.  I don't think people have the economy as their #1 issue. They have the price of gas as their #1 issue and economy #2 (no, the two are not unrelated).

So, as I keep saying:

It's the price of gas, stupid.