Can we say double standard?

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 — Only a few weeks ago, Representative Christopher Shays, a Republican from Connecticut, minced no words in responding to calls led by Democrats for a phased withdrawal from Iraq. “To have a timetable is absolutely foolish,” he said.

But now, as he faces an increasingly tough re-election battle against an antiwar Democrat, Diane G. Farrell, Mr. Shays has undergone a conversion: He is proposing a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops, an idea derided by the Bush administration and many Republicans.
- NY Times

Of course, when a Democrat proposes a timeline for getting out of the Iraq quagmire, he's derided by the GOP as a cut-and-runner, weak on fighting terror, hell, almost a traitor. But, I guess it's different when a Republican does it.

Actually, Shays is a pretty moderate Republican. Connecticut is one of those states where they have to be to get elected. I think he even voted against impeaching Bill Clinton when the GOP got on their moral high horse and put the country through that travesty, outraged that the Big Dog - gasp - got a bobjob.

But the hypocrisy factor, like so much the GOP does, is on Defcon 1 here.