President Bush is often derided by the left for taking a "predetermined" course of action but, honestly, has there ever been anything more predetermined in political history than Nancy Pelosi, Jack Murtha, et al. jetting over to Iraq and returning to declare they were "pessimistic" and "not encouraged" by what they saw. Was there even a remote chance they would have changed their position, regardless of what they might have seen or heard while in Iraq? Of course not.

Now watch the video below closely. It is "B-roll" from Nancy Pelosi's recent trip to Iraq. At the 1:15 mark is a fifteen second clip of Pelosi speaking to Major General Fil, the commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, whose primary responsibility is the security of Baghdad. The audio is terrible and the clip begins and ends abruptly, but here is a transcript of the exchange:

Pelosi: next three to six months...

Gen. Fil: I think we'll have real progress. I'm speaking as the Commander, now, of the Division. I can't speak for the Prime Minister or General Casey, but as the Division Commander here in Baghdad, um, I think we'll...

Now read the transcript of how Speaker Pelosi characterized what she heard on her trip at a big press conference in Washington DC on Tuesday:

"The escalation instituted by the president has been tried before and failed. Although we heard varying judgments about prospects for success this time, everyone we spoke to agreed that this was the one last chance, and it might not work."

We don't know who else Pelosi might have spoken to while on her trip, but we do know at least one very knowledgeable, high ranking officer told her that he expects to see "real progress." Is it conceivable Major General Fil also conceded to Pelosi upon direction examination the possibility that the plan "might not work?" I suppose so. But even if he did, Pelosi's carefully worded remarks to the American public appear to put the most pessimistic, most defeatist spin possible on what she saw and heard in Iraq. Unfortunately, it seems for political reasons the Democrats aren't even willing to concede the possibility, no matter how slight or remote it might seem to them, that we might actually succeed in Iraq.