David Gergen actually said...

"I think it's going to be received by a lot of people as too middle of the road, not a clear way out on the military side."

"It was a huge embarrassment."

"It seems to me almost impossible now for the president to come out of a meeting with Mr. Maliki in the next few hours and say with a straight face, we're now planning to do these three things to help ..."

"Of course we believe in withdrawal. There's no timetable here. And we'll do it when the mission is completed."