In its most recent editorial, The Nation calls for opposing the Democratic defense spending supplemental, also known as the Iraq Accountability Act, which would provide $124 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan tied to a timetable for withdrawal.

The editorial correctly argues that Congress has authority to set foreign policy and to withdraw funds for a war the people do not want. They also accurately cite polls that indicate growing opposition to the war.

The article goes on to state that the plan that will be voted on this week delays the end of the war and may not have the teeth needed to hold the president to account to ensure it.

The Nation editors then call for rejecting the Iraq Accountability Act and for passage of a proposal offered by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) which would provide supplemental funding only to pay for troop withdrawal by the end of this year.

But there's a minor flaw. 'There may not be enough Democratic and renegade Republican votes to win House passage of Lee's legislation,' The Nation editors admit.

Still, there is a silver lining: 'But tremendous educational and practical progress can be made by just saying no, as loudly as possible, to a President who has not gotten enough resistance from Congress.'

Unfortunately, this just isn't sound thinking on the part of The Nation.

The fact is that despite being politically weakened by a historically low approval rating and mired in scandal after scandal, Bush is pulling out all stops to defeat the spending supplemental. He has called it 'defeatist' and a plan that could lead to another 9/11. Members of his administration have accused its proponents of trying to give aid to the 'enemy.' He is threatening a veto.

This hysterical and cynical rhetoric shows how crucial passage of this bill is.

While we all have moral misgivings or principled doubts about a war based on lies (or any war for that matter) and the continued sacrifice of lives while political wrangling goes on, we have to think tactically about how to end this war.

We have to take into account the political forces that actually wield the power to end the war.

Bush is in a fight for his political life. He has proven that he will not change his mind on anything just because the people want him to.

In Congress, at the moment, the Democratic majority isn't fully united on a single plan for withdrawal. Only a handful of Republicans will defy Bush and vote for any kind of troop withdrawal package. This is a reflection of popular sentiments, not just interests or immorality or bad judgment.

Popular sentiments are also divided. Somewhere in the middle 60 percent range of Americans favor ending the war. For a variety of reasons, by more than 2 to 1, Americans who want the war to end favor delayed withdrawal rather than immediate withdrawal. Many Democratic members even face staunch support for the war in their districts.

In this climate, 218 of these members of the House must be cobbled together to pass any kind of troop withdrawal package – not to mention what must happen in the Senate. We have to work with these realities as they are now; we cannot wave a magic wand to change them immediately.

The contradictions and conundrums of the Democratic supplemental reflects this reality.

Ignoring this reality or saying only our principles and morals matter doesn't bring us closer to ending the war. Indeed, we are faced with the possibility that sticking to the moral high ground at this moment may aid in prolonging it.

If this package fails, despite whatever 'education' the people might get, Bush will claim a great victory and will insist that it means that his stay-the-course/escalation policy is the only viable plan. Bush will NOT, as The Nation editors insist, 'understand that time is running out for his strategy.'

He won't suddenly come to his senses and figure out that 'he can no longer afford to casually dismiss diplomacy and the logic of withdrawal' just because a Democratic alternative to his agenda fails to pass. His record shows that he will conclude the opposite.

The Nation editors are right: the Lee proposal, as good as it is, won't pass. And then what?

Tell your representatives to vote for the Iraq Acccountability Act and for a timetable for withdrawal. Click here.