The Tipping Point

The comparisons between Walter Cronkite and John Murtha are both obvious and relevant. Cronkite was originally hawkish on the Vietnam War, but a first hand look after the Tet offensive gave him a new perspective. As Daniel Hallin wrote: Cronkite's change of views certainly dramatized the collapse of consensus on the war. But it did not create that collapse, and there were enough strong factors pushing toward a change in policy that it is hard to know how much impact Cronkite had. By the fall of 1967, polls were already showing a majority of Americans expressing the opinion that it had been a "mistake" to get involved in Vietnam Somewhere along the line a tipping point had passed, virtually unnoticed, until Cronkite galvanized the sentiment with his famous broadcast. Enter Murtha. Traditionally hawkish, he's a powerful symbol of the collapse of consensus on Iraq. August began with Cindy Sheehan's vigil in Crawford; the country has since seen the grim 2000 KIA milestone shattered and the majority turn against the administration's Iraq policy. Patrick Buchanan, the ultimate conservative contrarian who has been so right so many times since the war began, captures it perfectly once again: With 57 percent of the nation no longer believing Bush an honest and truthful man, and 60 percent believing Iraq was a mistake and we should start bringing the troops home, it is impossible to see how the president can sustain the war effort. The Senate Democrats have gone over the hill, and the Republicans only await the bugle call to retreat. History sides with Buchanan, not the President. Alexander Hamilton once commented on the British Prime Minister fighting to save his occupation from the uprising of the American colonies: The premier has advanced too far to recede with safety; he is deeply interested to execute his purpose, if possible - in common life, to retract an error even in the beginning is not an easy task. Perseverance confirms us in it and rivets the difficulty - to this we may add that disappointment and opposition inflame the minds of men and attach them still more to their mistakes. Recent speeches from the President have shown a dearth of new ideas on Iraq—nothing but inane repetition of what has been said all along, of what has brought the country here in the first place. Note that same message is louder and the tenor more forceful as he becomes attached still more to his mistakes. Rep. Murtha's plan stands in stark contrast. He's taken a creative approach to solving an almost intractable problem—the withdrawal to the periphery encourages the Iraqis to fight independently while American forces are positioned for support and re-engagement if circumstances dictate. In the past the White House has had great success attacking decorated veterans who have had the temerity to disagree with them. They clearly thought this time would be no different and they were clearly wrong. They were wrong because the nation is now hungry for an alternative to staying the dreadful course. The White House didn't realize the tipping point has quietly come and gone, a point crystallized in the person of John Murtha.