In his column in the June 26 edition of Time, Joe Klein -- the magazine's "most liberal columnist" -- continued his pattern of attacking Democrats, claiming that the party is “not known for its warrior ethic.” Klein's column purported to explain why -- in spite of the Iraq war's flagging popularity -- Democrats “seem so bollixed” about the war while Bush “seem[s] so confident.”

Klein wrote:

What can the Democrats do? They can play politics or be responsible. The political option is to embrace “cut and run”; call for an immediate withdrawal, as Kerry did; and hope the public is so sick of Bush and sick of the war that it will punish the G.O.P. in the fall. But embracing defeat is a risky political strategy, especially for a party not known for its warrior ethic. In fact, the responsible path is the Democrats' only politically plausible choice: they will have to give yet another new Iraqi government one last shot to succeed.