Rudy Giuliani spoke plainly and truthfully about the dangers that the country will face should the Democrats win in 2008. Democrats are committed to a policy of retreat and defeat for the United States. This is true now and it will be true if they win in 2008.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in the most outrageous statement likely ever uttered by a person of his rank during a time of war for the United States, last week pronounced that the United States is "losing the war" in Iraq. His statement could hardly be more damaging to the morale of the troops serving in Iraq. Reid is one of those spearheading the effort to cut funding for the troops. There can be no question that the actions of Reid, and others like him, are undercutting the war effort of the United States and are boosting the morale of the enemy. It is one thing to criticize President Bush, and there is plenty of criticism to level, but it is quite another to declare that the United States is "losing" the war. The statement is as preposterous as it is dangerous to the war effort. What could Harry Reid have possibly been thinking?

Then there was Nancy Pelosi. Her trip to the Middle East was, to put it mildly, a catastrophe. Her misstatements of fact, with regard to the peace process there, we're damaging to the overall diplomatic effort of the United States in the region. She had no business going to the Middle East. Her arguments that other members of Congress have made similar trips was ridiculous. She is the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States. She is different. Because of her rank, her statements are going to be given more weight by the leaders in the region than any statements coming out of the mouth of other Congressional visitors. Her visit was not only disastrous because of her unfortunate misstatements of fact, but because she conveyed the impression that the United States government is divided in its policy towards the Middle East. That is hardly the impression that needs to be presented at this point in time. Pelosi should have had the judgment and discretion to understand this.

I believe that the Democrats have seriously overreached, and misjudged the reason that they were put into the legislative majority last November. They were put into the majority because Americans perceived that the Republicans in Congress had run out of steam, and were not effectively bringing forth strong ideas and initiatives for the country. The country also was trying to send a message to the president that his "stay the course" mantra with regard to the war in Iraq was wearing thin. Well, the president has changed his course, and is attempting to employ a new strategy in Iraq. The Democrats, it would seem, have no desire to give that strategy a fighting chance, and see how it might play out, but rather seem to be intent upon quashing it, whatever the costs, for political gain. Yet the Democrats refuse to tell the country what their answer will be if their wishes come true, and the United States ends all operations in Iraq, and Iraq becomes immersed in a total and disastrous civil war, with al-Qaeda establishing a firm and uncontested base of operations there and the disastrous consequences for America resulting from that. It is difficult to imagine that a major political party in the United States could act in this irresponsible and dangerous manner.

The country did not put the Democrats in the majority so that the Democrats could tell the country that it is losing a war. The country did not put Democrats in the majority so that they could cut funding for American troops in time of war. And the country certainly did not put Democrats in power so that the Speaker of the House could trot over to the Middle East and convey the impression that the American government is completely divided with regard to its policy there.

Despite conventional wisdom to the contrary, the Democrats are likely in serious danger of overreading the results of last year's elections, and bringing about an electoral outcome in 2008 which is quite contrary to the outcome that they expect at this point.