A War Bush Wouldn't Pay For

E.J. Dionne wrote in WaPo Believe it or not, winning the war in Iraq was never the Bush administration's highest priority. Saving its tax cuts was more important. That was once spoken of as a moral problem. Now it's a practical barrier to a successful outcome.

Really? Do you think that the Sunnis will stop killing the Shia, and the Shia will stop killing the Sunnis, and that the insurgents will calm down and run for office, if the United States just increases taxes? If so, you are an idiot.

Until recently President Bush's refusal to scale back any of his tax cuts was discussed as the question of shared sacrifice: How could we ask so much from a courageous group of Americans fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan but not ask even the wealthiest of their fellow citizens to part with a few extra dollars to support an endeavor supposedly central to our nation's security?

And do you think the Media the Democrats, and the American People, would just get behind the war and insist that it be won, as long as GWB makes them pay more taxes?

On the contrary, even after we committed to war in Iraq, the administration pushed for yet more tax cuts in dividends and capital gains.