Josh Marshall points us to new White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten's "Five-Point Plan" to keep control of Congress this November, necessary to protect the administration from the subpoena power that it needed four years ago (see A Democratic Congress will investigate Iraq).

All of them seem lame or craven, or grotesque, not least the promise to ratchet up tensions with Iran for political reasons. "In the face of the Iranian menace, the Democrats will lose," says a source described as "a Republican frequently consulted by the White House."

It's point #4 from the original Time article:

4 RECLAIM SECURITY CREDIBILITY. This is the riskiest, and potentially most consequential, element of the plan, keyed to the vow by Iran to continue its nuclear program despite the opposition of several major world powers. Presidential advisers believe that by putting pressure on Iran, Bush may be able to rehabilitate himself on national security, a core strength that has been compromised by a discouraging outlook in Iraq. "In the face of the Iranian menace, the Democrats will lose," said a Republican frequently consulted by the White House. However, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll this April 8-11, found that 54% of respondents did not trust Bush to "make the right decision about whether we should go to war with Iran."

Josh says that Democrats wondering how to defend against this have already lost:

On a battlefield there is a name for armies that spend all their time and energy planning and conditioning themselves to defend against their opponents' attacks. They're called defeated armies. You defend yourself when and where you must. But you do everything you can to maintain the initiative. And that pretty much always means bringing the attack to the other side.

Josh suggests the title of this post as the Democratic response: "Double or nothing is not a foreign policy." Pithy and a good sound bite, but I think it's insufficient. That's a response, not an attack.

What the Democrats ought to have done, from the moment the Time article appeared, was immediately go on every talk show and in front of every microphone to point out that the Republicans want to start war in Iran to boost the President's popularity. They should have called for the President's immediate refutation of this plan, for Josh Bolten's immediate resignation, and for an independent investigation into what parts of the White House political operation were trying to plan war as a political benefit for the President.

Ask all the staffers to take polygraph tests limited to the subject of preparing for war in Iran for political purposes. When the chickenhawks scream bloody murder about how such revelations might "damage national security," point out the overwhelming evidence that Iran is years away from a nuclear weapon, and how the administration is trying to hide or marginalize that intelligence. Make the chickenhawks defend their "war first, questions later" position. Dig up every one of their unrepudiated, wrong predictions about Iraq and ask why they have credibility today.

Demand that everyone associated with the idea of going to war in Iran to make George W. Bush look good resign immediately, and don't stop demanding it until it happens. Don't let go, don't change message, don't give up. Every day, in every context, remind the American public that the president's political advisors planned to sacrifice the lives of United States soldiers to improve his political standing.

That's not just good politics. That's patriotism.