''Feingold Wants All Troops Home By Dec. 2006''

"Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold has taken a position no other senator has: he's called for a target date to pull all forces from Iraq. Feingold, a Democrat, says the United States should set a date -- Dec. 31, 2006 -- when all troops would be returned home. Some say he's setting himself up for a run for the White House. Political analysts say the move is not politically motivated, but politically calculated, reported WISC-TV in Madison.

"I would guess that he has thought this through, understanding that there are political implications," said Brandon Scholz, a Republican strategist. "But it is certainly calculated."

Matt Rothschild, editor of Progressive magazine, said "I'm quite convinced that Feingold wants to run for president. I think he's wanted to run for president for a long time. In a way, he's the Howard Dean of 2008 without the scream."

Feingold said there are three scenarios for the end of 2006: strong success in building a democracy and security in Iraq, in which the troops could come home; some success in Iraq but not enough, which he proposes a withdrawal delay; or a situation where things are bad in Iraq but troops come home anyway. "A third possibility is the situation simply has become so inconsistent with our overall goal of fighting terrorists around the world that we may have to say, 'Look, we may have to come home, anyway,'" Feingold said. That challenges a central theme to President George W. Bush's argument that a withdrawal date would allow the terrorists to "wait us out." "(Bush) says either we're going to stay the course forever apparently, or we can just cut and run," Feingold said. "Well, that's a false choice."

Rothschild and Scholz both say a move like this could open doors.

"It's a very classic traditional strategic move," Scholz said. "You move hard left -- you take the left and you try to move it to the center." Rothschild says the move has made Feingold the loudest, leading anti-war candidate, rivaling Hillary Clinton.

Scholz admits it at least has started a discussion -- one which might make Feingold very attractive to the anti-war slice of America that no one else is talking to them right now.

"I mean Hillary Clinton isn't. Joe Biden isn't -- he wants more troops over there," Rothschild said. "At least someone is saying, 'Look, this war is a mess. We need to get out right now.' Well, not 'right now.' I wish he said, ''right now' ... in 16 months."-from the story on Channel 3000 (WI).