Conviction

As Hugh Hewitt likes to say, I too think that John McCain is "a great American, a lousy senator, and a terrible Republican."

He is not anyone I would have voted for for President, at least in the primaries.

But as of today, he is in my mind the leader of what needs to be a Senate Victory Caucus.

Let his words speak for themselves.

If we leave Iraq prematurely, jihadists around the world will interpret the withdrawal as their great victory against our great power. Their movement thrives in an atmosphere of perceived victory; we saw this in the surge of men and money flowing to al Qaeda following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. If they defeat the United States in Iraq, they will believe that anything is possible, that history is on their side, that they really can bring their terrible rule to lands the world over. Recall the plan laid out in a letter from Zawahiri to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, before his death. That plan is to take shape in four stages: establish a caliphate in Iraq, extend the “jihad wave” to the secular countries neighboring Iraq, clash with Israel – none of which shall commence until the completion of stage one: expel the Americans from Iraq. Mr. President, the terrorists are in this war to win it. The question is: Are we?

You can also watch his irritation with defeatists here.