Last April, an unnoticed exchange on television took place that defined the battle about to consume our politics for the next 9 months. The scene was The Daily Show, the day was April 24, 2007, and it was Senator John McCain’s (R-AZ) umpteenth appearance. Jon Stewart’s and John McCain’s repartee had always been light and fun, even when Jon Stewart criticized McCain for speaking at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University after calling him an “agent of intolerance.” But this time it was different.

Stewart wasn’t joking around with McCain about his latest faux-pas or most recent book on character or leadership. McCain had been talking for a good three minutes about how the consequences of leaving Iraq would be catastrophic and how the new strategy under General Petraeus was going to save the war in Iraq. He was largely repeating Republican talking points about how this wasn’t going to be won easily, how the war has been mismanaged, but how “we are where we are” and that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror. But when McCain mentioned that saying the war is lost is harming the troops, Stewart launched into a bit of a tirade.

“All I’m saying is you cannot look a soldier in the eye and say questioning the president is less supportive to you than extending your tour three months when you should be coming home to your family. And that’s not fair to put on people who criticize.”

Viewers saw John McCain actually shrink back into his chair. It was a physical sign of defeat rarely seen from a political leader engaged in intellectual debate.

Stewart continued, “And you know I love you and respect your service and would never question any of that, and this is not about questioning the troops and their ability to fight and their ability to be supported. And that is what the administration does, and that is almost criminal.”

Back then, in April 2007, McCain had said, “Before I left for Iraq, I watched with regret as the House of Representatives voted to deny our troops the support necessary to carry out their new mission. Democratic leaders smiled and cheered as the last votes were counted. What were they celebrating? Defeat? Surrender? In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering. A defeat for the United States is a cause for mourning not celebrating.”

But as a man who understands the military and comprehends the politics of a counterinsurgency, McCain should understand that victory and defeat are no longer appropriate terms for the future of the war in Iraq. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel (NE) understands this, saying “There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq. These terms do not reflect the reality of what is going to happen there.”

Still, despite the fact that many generals have echoed the sentiments of Hagel, John McCain continues to frame the war in Iraq as a win or lose situation. Every chance he gets he talks about how the Democratic candidates, Senator Hillary Clinton (NY) and Senator Barack Obama (IL), want to surrender in Iraq. His bus tour this fall was called the “No Surrender” tour and on January 24th, McCain said, “Candidate Clinton has called for surrender and waving the white flag.” On another instance he remarked, “If Senator Clinton has her way, Al Qaeda will trumpet to the world that they have beaten the United States.” He paints her as a defeatist. New York Times columnist Gail Collins lampooned McCain’s rhetoric writing, “Hear the incessant drone of terrorsurrenderterrorsurrenderterrorsurrender? Welcome to McCain vs. Yet-to-Be-Named-White-Flag-Waver.”

This fall, the exchange that took place between McCain and Stewart will be replayed writ large. The American public will be faced with two starkly different and competing visions for the future of Iraq. One states that if we leave, the consequences will be earth shattering and that our continued military presence will do good. The other states that ultimately we need political progress, not military progress, and that political progress won’t come until we stand down and force the Iraqis to take control of their own civil war.

Regardless of which portrayal resonates with the public, the Democrats must attack McCain whenever he lapses into Bush-style black-or-white, victory-or-defeat, win-or-lose rhetoric. Clinton and Obama are not waving a white flag and McCain knows this. It’s time to follow Jon Stewart’s lead and reject the demagoguery.