Bush foes admit benefits of Iraq policy

So says the Washington Times. There's some great stuff here:
Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, the New Jersey Democrat who delivered a famous "chicken hawk" speech deriding the war advocates in the Bush administration and voted against funding the war, said yesterday that recent developments in Lebanon and Syria suggest the war was a force for good.
"The war gave the Lebanese the spine they needed," Mr. Lautenberg said yesterday. "It told them, 'We can get rid of these vultures."

So far so good.

Sen Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that Mr. Bush deserves some credit for the positive developments in the still volatile region.
"What's taken place in a number of those countries is enormously constructive," Mr. Kennedy said. "It's a reflection the president has been involved."

Wow, must have caught him before lunch. Next up:

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said he didn't hear Mr. Bush's speech yesterday on spreading freedom in the Middle East, but "if there were ever a place in the world where we need democracy, it's in the Middle East."
"Any breakthrough we get there, whether it's in Lebanon or Egypt, is a step in the right direction and I support the president in that regard," Mr. Reid said.

Yes Harry, voters in America support democracy, hope you didn't have to commission a poll on that one. But here comes the guy who ruins the party:

But Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry, whose criticism of Mr. Bush's Iraq policy did not translate into a presidential victory in November, said Mr. Bush deserves no credit for recent developments in the Middle East... Mr. Kerry said any good that comes from the Iraq war does not make it the right decision.

But a Dem staffer ties it up nicely:

A senior Democratic Senate aide acknowledged that many in his party were surprised by recent developments in the Middle East and realized that attacking the president on the war would have less bite.
"You have to give the guy a modicum of credit," the senior aide said. "There's no denying that the Iraq vote could be a catalyst for change in the region...Even if things start to go south, I think we all agree that ripping Bush over this is not very constructive," he said. "And nobody wants to be on the wrong side of this if it continues to go well, either."

Except John Kerry.