Washington Post opinion columnist Eugene Robinson was online Tuesday, July 8 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his recent columns and the latest news.

Discussion Group: Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood

The transcript follows.

Archive: Eugene Robinson discussion transcripts

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Eugene Robinson: Hello, everyone. I'm just getting back after a couple of weeks off. Usually the summer is the doldrums, as far as the news cycle is concerned, but this year just won't let up. Today's column was about Iraq -- timetables, timelines, time horizons... Meanwhile, Obama is midway through his world tour and the McCain campaign is looking for ways to make news. Lots to talk about, as always.

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Washington: Thanks for your thoughtful column. I wonder -- we're hearing so much about what Maliki wants, do we know anything about the stances the Sunni or Kurd leaders have on a withdrawal timeline? Is there any concern Maliki would crush these minorities if U.S troops pulled out? Perhaps U.S. forces could be withdrawn partially and the remaing troops' role could include protecting these minorities' rights?

washingtonpost.com: Timelines in the Sand (Post, July 22)

Eugene Robinson: One theory is that Maliki's endorsement of a timetable was largely designed to bring the Sunnis back into the government. If so, it seems to have worked. I'm not certain of the Kurdish position, but my guess is that they would be more amenable to a lengthier U.S. stay.

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That Lucky Obama: So, according to Dan Balz, the fact that Maliki agrees with Obama on the length of a likely timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq is a sign of Obama's "agility and good fortune." It's got nothing to do with Obama's campaign and advisers having a better view of the world situation and the situation in Iraq, or that a timetable is always the most logical way to withdraw from a country in which you've placed troops. He's just lucky, that's all. Really? Really?

washingtonpost.com: Obama Makes War Gains (Post, July 22)

Eugene Robinson: What's that old saying about how luck always favors the best-prepared?

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Washington: Mr. Robinson: As Sen. McCain has stated that our goal in Iraq is "victory" and that the surge has been successful, why not marry these two thoughts, declare victory and support a timely reduction in troops? He can take credit for the whole thing -- given that he supported the surge -- and because we have achieved "victory" he would not be reversing course. Isn't this a brilliant plan?

Eugene Robinson: For the life of me, I can't figure why it hasn't occurred to the White House (and its supporters, including McCain) to declare victory and pull out. It's clear that there is no appetite in this country for a long-term occupation of Iraq involving huge numbers of American troops. They could say look, we got rid of Saddam Hussein, installed a democratically elected government and reduced the violence to a manageable level. The Iraqis have already taken care of al-Qaeda. So we can "withdraw with honor," as McCain wants.

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Rolla, Mo.: CNN asks the question we've all been pondering: "Could an Obama Presidency Hurt Black Americans?" This may win the title for the most ridiculous article in the campaign to date. Do you feel threatened by the prospect of his presidency?

washingtonpost.com: Could an Obama presidency hurt black Americans? (CNN, July 22)

Eugene Robinson: This story makes no sense to me. No, I don't feel particularly threatened.

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Washington: Do you believe that Bush has changed his tune to embrace a withdrawal timetable, but he is unwilling to admit it? If so, why do you think he is trying to play word games?

Eugene Robinson: I don't believe for a moment that Bush is willing to embrace a timetable for withdrawal. He's facing his own timetable, though -- he has six more months in office. If the Iraqis are demanding a timetable, he can't very well continue to insist the idea is completely out of the question. Hence his "time horizon" formulation, which is intended to sound as though it means something, even though it doesn't.

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Brooklyn, N.Y.: What's the difference between a timeline and a time horizon? Give up? Let me give you the answer, Eugene: Both you can see ahead of you, but the latter you never will meet. The White House finally has admitted the truth in their Iraq strategy -- there is no end.

Eugene Robinson: Very true. But as I pointed out in the column, it's pretty far-fetched to imagine that George W. Bush is being diabolically clever with words. He's not exactly known for his way with the language.

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St. Albans, Vt.: Is " The Audacity of Vanity" just right-wing code for "uppity n-word," or is Obama's ego a legitimate issue?

Eugene Robinson: I confess that I, too, wondered if this was code-speak. I've never met a presidential nominee who lacked a healthy ego. Nor have I ever met a senator, for that matter, who lacked a healthy ego.

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Peaks Island, Maine: If you were an Obama issues person charged with responding to McCain's criticism that Obama's opposition to the surge shows him not competent to be commander-in-chief, what would you advise?

Eugene Robinson: I'd tell him to say the same thing that supporters of the war say when critics point out that the invasion was a strategic blunder, that it was predicated on faulty intelligence and that the White House sold the American public a bill of goods: Why do you insist on fighting yesterday's battles? The question is what we do now -- and the answer, according to the Iraqi people, is that we set a timetable to get out.

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Buffalo, N.Y.: We all know that President Bush never has been very straightforward with plans to end this war once and for all. Following this overseas visit, will Barack Obama be able to give us a more clearly defined timetable on when our troops will get out of Iraq (that is, if he's elected)?

Eugene Robinson: He reiterated his 16-month timetable today. I doubt he'll get much more specific than that.

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Short and Simple: Why is the press downplaying and burying MCCain's daily gaffs? What gives them the right to do this, especially after they blew the Rev. Wright nonsense up to insane proportions?

Eugene Robinson: There does seem to be a pattern emerging of frequent gaffes by McCain. Individually, each one doesn't amount to much. But if they continue at the rate of one a day, at some point the pattern becomes an important story. In my view.

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Philadelphia: I wonder how long it will take for polls to reflect what has transpiring this week -- not only is Obama trumping McCain on foreign policy, but McCain inexplicably spitting nails in public. I'm a former McCain 2000 supporter who's pretty shocked to see how this guy is behaving with the heat turned on. It's clear he doesn't like being outsmarted at every turn, but he's coming off like he's vying for Sean Hannity's job, not the presidency. Lesson 1: Conduct yourself in a presidential way and delegate the attacks.

Eugene Robinson: There have been substantial stories, in our paper and others, about McCain's temper. There's been much criticism of the length and intensity of our presidential campaigns, but one good thing is that we get a chance to see how the candidates perform under unimaginable pressure and scrutiny.

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Scarsdale, N.Y.: After all these pictures of lazy soldiers fawning over Obama this week, never has it been so true that "you don't go to war with the Army you want, you go to war with the Army you have." Let's try shooting some terrorists and securing some pipelines, rather than just gorging on brunches with a Democrat senator.

Eugene Robinson: I guess it would be okay if it were a Republican senator, right? I thought I'd heard everything, but this is the first time, to my knowledge, that anyone has referred to U.S. troops as "lazy." Wow.

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Richmond, Va.: Your being on vacation meant that we didn't have a column when the New Yorker cover came out. Care to comment? Also, on a seperate subject, what's your take on the recent changes in Cuba (if I read correctly, equality of income no longer is guaraunteed, andfarmers can farm privately)?

Eugene Robinson: The cover didn't work for me. The risk with satire is that sometimes people don't get what you're doing. If enough people don't get it, then it didn't work. That said, I do take intent into consideration when I'm handing out indictments. Remember when that Danish editor ran those cartoons of the prophet Muhammad? He didn't deserve death threats, but I slammed the guy because his intent was to offend in a way that many people would find hurtful. In the New Yorker case, the intent wasn't to offend or wound. It just missed the mark, widely.

On Cuba, it looks as if Raul is following through on a host of limited reforms that Fidel always resisted. Too soon to say, though, whether this means any sort of fundamental change.

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Wilmington, N.C.: Mr. Robinson, do you think the New York Times editorial board was justified in their decision to ask for edits to John McCain's op-ed? This clearly plays to McCain's base, and he's using it for that purpose. I don't see it being a big deal, though (it has a short time horizon in my view). Your thoughts?

Eugene Robinson: The next time my editors trim one of my columns, or even (horror of horrors!) ask me to revise my deathless prose, I'll welcome the supportive outcry from John McCain's base. I doubt it'll do any good, though. That's what editors do: They edit.

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Washington: Any reaction to Marc Thiessen's piece and/or your own paper's op-ed practices for allowing this one-sided attempt to gloss over the record of an unrepentant racist politician?

washingtonpost.com: The Jesse Helms You Should Remember (Post, July 7)

Eugene Robinson: That's not the Jesse Helms I remember. The Helms I remember was an old-school racist. David Broder captured the Helms I remember in a column he wrote when Helms retired; it was re-posted on washingtonpost.com when Helms died. Here it is:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/06/AR2008070602321.html

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Fort Hood, Texas: Re: Scarsdale, sorry, but our job is not to just go out and "shoot terrorists." As for securing some pipelines, I'll assume Scarsdale wasn't in the military -- there should be more things for the U.S. military to do (at least there were during my two Iraq tours) than standing around to "secure pipelines." As for brunching with the visitor, those things happen when VIPs arrive, especially with troops from his or her constituency, regardless of whether they're Republican, Democrat or Green Party, a national leader or a state governor.

Eugene Robinson: Well said.

That's all for today, folks. See you next week.

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