This is why I hate cable news.

Having CNN or MSNBC or whatever's on in the background I just heard Pat Buchanan – who’s a lot smarter than most people give him credit for – say, in effect, that the reason Bush should hold firm and not pull the troops out of Iraq is that the world is watching and he can’t afford to lose prestige by admitting defeat.

I humbly suggest that anyone who thinks that way should place a shotgun in their mouth, pull the trigger, and do us all a favor by improving the gene pool by a small but significant amount.

Because the world is watching is precisely the reason why the troops should be withdrawn from Iraq. They’re watching us bleed ourselves to death over a point of pride. And if we do indeed have enemies among them you can rest assured they’re paying attention and taking notes. The fundamental error here is that kind of macho, frat boy swagger that pervades the Bush Administration and the larger conservative movement. It is not weakness to admit your mistakes. It is a strength. If Mr. Bush throws up his hands, goes “Whoops!”, and we end our involvement in a conflict that’s only just heating up then the world will see that. And they’ll know that we can learn from our mistakes, too, and that we’re smart enough to change course when needed. And resolute enough to stay the course when we have to. The only reason to stay the course here is to save face – the nation’s if not the legacy of the President. But our soldier’s blood and our country’s treasure is slowly but surely be frittered away. If we keep this sort of thing up then the only thing left is going to be an empty mask over a hollow shell.

To put it in business terms: This is not the time to double down. This is the time to fold so that we still have a large enough stack to make a difference in the next hand. Or even meet the ante.