With 22 Senate Republicans up for re-election in ’08, the GOP is in as much of a political bind over Iraq as the Democrats.

Eleanor Clift writes in Newsweek:

All eyes are on the Democrats to see whether they will stand up to Bush. Memories of the Vietnam hangover and fear of being tagged as the party who lost Iraq keep Democrats from articulating a clear position. But the real rebellion is brewing within the Republican Party. Conservative columnist Robert Novak wrote that Bush can count on only 12 of the 49 Republicans in the Senate to back him on the war. Virginia Sen. John Warner, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, is quietly telling people the president is making a big mistake if he believes a surge in troops will bail him out in Iraq. If Democrats can peel off enough Republicans to publicly oppose the surge option, they may try to force a vote. With 22 Senate Republicans up for re-election in ’08, the GOP is in as much of a political bind over Iraq as the Democrats.