CATS AND DOGS, LIVING TOGETHER:

PIERRE – Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., on Thursday praised the Bush administration’s war and nation-building work in Iraq and said he has no serious concerns about the lack of weapons of mass destruction.

Daschle told state chamber of commerce representatives meeting in the South Dakota capital that he is satisfied with the way things are going in Iraq.

“I give the effort overall real credit,” Daschle said. “It is a good thing Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. It is a good thing we are democratizing the country.”

He said he is not upset about the debate over pre-war intelligence on weapons of mass destruction, an issue that has dogged President Bush as Democratic presidential contenders have slogged through the primary season.

I wonder what polls he’s seen?

UPDATE: Or maybe Daschle is just dishonestly telling different stories to different groups, in the hopes they won’t notice. Your call.

ANOTHER UPDATE: In response to the “what polls?” question, reader Matt Edens emails, “the ones in South Dakota.” Seems likely, and in fact that’s consistent with what reader James Somers writes:

The story you linked to about Daschle’s recent pro-Administration remarks on Iraq is likely a sign of things to come. The Democrats have had a fun primary season bashing the Administration by playing to the anti-Bush hysteria of their base. But we are reaching a time where they may not be able to deliver that message safely anymore, because most of the competitive Senate races this year are in the “red states.” The Democrats are trying to hold open seats in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana, and they have sitting senators up for re-election in the Dakotas, Arkansas and Nevada. They also hope to pick up seats in Oklahoma and Alaska. None of those states are places where naysaying about Iraq or demands for deference to the U.N. are likely to play well. Consequently, as in 2002, the Democrats will have to be very careful with their foreign policy message as November nears, or risk down-ballot disaster that solidifies the GOP’s hold on the Senate.

This would work better, though, if the Internet didn’t make it easy for people to compare statements across both temporal and geographic lines.

Of course, maybe Daschle has changed his mind in response to the facts. It could happen!

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: The polls question is answered, at the Daschle v. Thune blog.