The president was campaigning today in one of the few places where he’s still welcome, and he rolled out his final campaign pitch of the season.

Bush said Democrats calling for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq aren’t unpatriotic, just wrong. […]

"If they say they want to win the war on terror, but call for America to pull out of what al-Qaida says is the central front in this war, ask them this question: ‘What’s your plan?‘ " Bush said at a rally for Missouri Sen. Jim Talent, who is seeking re-election in one of the tightest races in the nation.

"The truth is the Democrats can’t answer that question," Bush said.

I wish I was a political cartoonist.  Because I would draw something like this:

Panel One:  An elephant that looks remarkably like Bush is walking purposefully through the jungle.  Tethered to him is a rather nervous donkey.  The donkey says "Um, I don’t think this is smart.  We’re going to get caught in quicksand."

Panel Two:  The elephant has now picked his pace.  The donkey is being dragged behind the elephant.  The donkey is now screaming: "Wait a second! Do you even know what you’re doing?  There’s quicksand ahaed!  Be smart!"

Panel Three:  There is a pool of quicksand (conveniently labeled with a sign next to it).  Sticking out of the quicksand is an elephant’s trunk, and the tip of a donkey’s nose.  The elephant is talking through his trunk saying, "Okay.  Since your so smart, what’s your great idea?"

The point is that for Bush to put the onus on Democrats to get out of the mess that Bush created strikes me as both absurd and sad.

So naturally, when Republicans ask what the Democrats’ plan for Iraq is, people are asking ""What’s the president’s plan?" The truth is Republicans can’t answer that question.

The Democrats, by the way, have answered that question, back in April.  It’s very detailed (123 pages, in PDF format).

So remember, when you see news clips of Bush asking Democrats, "Where’s your plan?", talk back to the TV and ask Bush: "Where’s yours?  And how can we be sure it’s better than the ‘plan’ that got us into this mess in the first place?"