There's no longer any sign on the Web site of Senator Obama's long articulated, often reiterated view that American policy in Iraq is doomed to failure. It's been tossed down the memory hole. Winston Smith, whose job at the Ministry of Truth in "1984" was to rewrite history, would understand perfectly. Nothing is more mutable than the past - at least on your own Web site.

At the same time Senator Obama was dismissing American prospects in Iraq last year, his chief rival for the nomination, Hillary Clinton, was ridiculing the new commander in the field, telling Gen. David Petraeus at a widely publicized hearing that it would take "a willing suspension of disbelief" to put any faith in his projections.

Those projections now have proven even more reliable than even the general could have hoped at the time. But I have yet to see an apology from Senator Clinton for her snide remark, nor, worse, do I expect one.

Yes, victory in Iraq was barely conceivable a year ago - but only to some. It was conceivable to a visionary new commander in the field and an old U.S. senator named John McCain, who backed the general's plan when that was anything but the popular thing to do.

It was easy enough to jeer at the general when all the odds seemed against him; what took political courage was to support him.

At this point it would take a willing suspension of disbelief to put any trust in the military judgment of a Barack Obama - or the humility of a Hillary Clinton.