Yesterday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offered a succinct statement that properly framed the debate over the Iraq bill, and countered Dubya's hysterical attacks:

The President today asked the American people to trust him as he continues to follow the same failed strategy that has drawn our troops further into an intractable civil war. The President's policies have failed and his escalation endangers our troops and hurts our national security. Neither our troops nor the American people can afford this strategy any longer.

Democrats will send President Bush a bill that gives our troops the resources they need and a strategy in Iraq worthy of their sacrifices. If the President vetoes this bill he will have delayed funding for troops and kept in place his strategy for failure.

That frame tracks what I laid out over at Common Sense last week: "Funding Failure Is Not an Option."

But for that message to fully frame the national discussion, and rob Dubya of the ability to frame on his inaccurate terms, two other things need to happen.

1) The frame must include why Bush's strategy is a failure.

Without making the case that the goal of permanent occupation -- not simply past incompetence -- attracts attacks on our troops and hinders necessary diplomacy, it's not evident why a change in strategy is called for, nor what that change should be.

2) All congressional Dems must articulate Reid's frame.

Reid cannot do this alone. Framing national discourse, replacing the media's reflexive assumptions, requires a team effort.

All Dems (and Republicans that voted for the Iraq bills) should stress that their legislation offers a new strategy for success, while giving Bush another blank check would simply fund more failure.