Republicans and Democrats...what's so different

This nation is in the midst of a political debate over what to do in Iraq. Much of what is being said by the leading candidates is a masqueraded as a different approach to the dilemma that this nation is facing. What do we do about the war in Iraq that will gain the support of the American people. As in any war, tactics must change with the situations that unfold on the ground minute by minute. One thing that should never change is our strategy. The Democrats would like their base and the rest of the American people to believe that their strategy is to pull out of Iraq as soon as possible. Believe it or not, the Republicans want the same strategy. The differences show up when you get candidates telling the public that they will adopt tactics that will culminate into their strategy by a date certain. This appeals to many people because most are battle weary and the death toll continues to climb. Others just don't think we should ever have gone to war in the first place. So they applaud the proposed tactics outlined by these candidates without real consideration of the consequences of that tactic. It may be a good tactic that will work out just fine or it could result in a disaster that we can not even begin to imagine. On the other side, we have candidates that propose our continued presence and military campaigns in the region until some uncertain date in the future when some uncertain event will indicate that it is time to bring the troops home and allow the Iraqi's to stand on their own. You don't hear a lot of details except that it should be left to the generals on the ground to determine when the time is right. I think there is some wisdom in that statement. The generals can let us know when the provinces are secure and they can tell us when the Iraqi military is ready to take over. They can not tell us when the government of Iraq is able to effectively direct and lead those military units. They can not tell us when the Iraqi people will come together and support their government. They can not tell us when the corruption in the Iraqi police force has been eradicated. They can't even tell us that Al-Qaida will not move in and set up terrorist training camps as soon as we leave. So how do we know when and how to leave Iraq? We don't want Iran to move in and control the country. We also don't want another country in the region that is openly hostile to America. I definitely believe that there are not many Americans that want to set up permanent bases in Iraq like we have in Korea and Bosnia. There has to be a smart way to do it. So here we are at tactics again. As you can see, strategy has not changed, but tactics are unclear. I submit that we can and must come together as a united nation to formulate the best military and political tactics that will result in the success of our efforts and sacrifices. This won't get any candidate elected because the political process requires each party to shun the other party's positions and dividing America is part of the process. We are being short changed by this process. We expect our leaders to work together to do what is in the best interests of the nation and the people. We expect our leaders to bring us together toward a common cause when the nation is at war, but I must be pragmatic. This is idealism and some would say it is not realistic to believe that we can come together and achieve a solution that has the support of all the people. You can't please everyone, but we can expect our elected leaders to put aside the kool-aid and get back to the business of working together towards a reasonable solution and adoption of feasible tactics to achieve the ultimate strategy of victory and success of freedom and Democracy. What will Huckabee, Thompson, McCain, Romney, Obama, Clinton, Guiliani, Edwards or (God forbid) Ron Paul do that can and will transcend party rhetoric and bring us together as a nation?