After the U. S. invaded Iraq...

...back in 2003, my wife turned to me at one point and asked, "What if they don't find any weapons of mass destruction?"

"Oh, that's just silly. Even Colin Powell--on the floor of the U. N.--said there were weapons of mass destruction."

"Right."

And then a few days went by--no WMD. A few weeks; no WMD. A few months; no WMD. Could it be? Was it possible? Finally the experts confirmed what everyone had been wondering: there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Wow!

But some on the right, such as the Wall Street Journal, just wouldn't give up. Surely, they said, the weapons must be somewhere. Perhaps Saddam transported them to Syria. Or perhaps they're just really well hidden. Or perhaps...

And I remember thinking, perhaps the Journal will just have to give up on the idea at some point.

I don't know if the Journal ever admitted they were wrong; my guess is that they just turned their attention elsewhere.

I'm reminded of this story by the reaction yesterday and today from the opponents of the health care bill. Michele Bachmann, John Boehner, Paul Ryan and others are having their say on how bad this bill is and how they are going to go about repealing it or hindering its passage in some way. Whatever.

All I can think is, at some point they just have to give up.

There will be no repeal. Reform will be popular. And the Democrats' poll numbers will begin to improve as of today.