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The Democratic Party’s strategy for the general election is clearly to transfer ownership of the war in Iraq from President George W. Bush to Republican presidential nominee John McCain. Today, the Democratic National Committee released a new web ad titled Bush/McCain: Lockstep. The 60 second ad features McCain following right along with the Bush administration’s talking points on the war in Iraq.

Take a look for yourself:

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It is a standard political tactic to try and attach the unpopular polices of a current administration to that party’s presidential candidate, regardless of whether that candidate was actually a part of the administration. John McCain was not a part of the Bush administration, but has made the Democrats’ job easy, by serving as the top Senate parrot of the administration’s Iraq policy. I don’t think there is a candidate in recent history who has so willingly embraced an unpopular policy the way McCain has with Iraq.

McCain has now left himself with only one option. In order to win the presidency, he must convince the 2/3 of America that disagrees with him that Iraq was not only the right thing to do, but that we are now winning, and must continue the fight. The Democrats haven’t had to transfer ownership of the war to John McCain. He has happily done it himself. McCain’s stance on the war is was what won him the Republican nomination over the other liberal Republicans but it is this same stance that will likely cost him the presidency, no matter who the Democratic nominee is.