The Dems Caved, but the Fight's Not Over

September will be the Iraq showdown. Okay, the Democrats caved this week, finally agreeing to a bill that would fund the Iraq was without imposing the veto bait of a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. forces. But come September, the showdown will be inevitable.

That's when Gen. David Petraeus is due to issue his report about how well the surge is going. Let's assume the report does not say all hope is lost in Iraq and we should withdraw immediately. Let's assume that it says that progress is being made but the commitment required to achieve stability in Iraq -- forget a cessation to violence -- will be long and costly. At that point, will the Democrats force a timetable on the president?

Interestingly, a new New York Times poll out this afternoon shows the Democrats dilemma. Three out of four Americans think the Iraq effort is going poorly, six out of 10 say we should never have invaded. But a majority still favors funding the war as long as Iraq needs our help. (When will it not?)

Given Bush's determination not to budge, will the Democrats come back in September and vote for a cut off? My guess is that they won't even though the party's base is so fervently antiwar.

Cutting off U.S. troops over the objections of the commander in chief and his popular commander in the field is something Democrats won't do especially because they can't sustain it against a Bush veto.

And so the war will go on into 2008 amidst the presidential campaign. Only a new president can change course.