Abstract: The article discusses the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the issue of the Iraq war, and why the war is not discussed on the campaign trail. The candidates only differ slightly on the war, but most of the candidates are avoiding the issue. The reasons for this are that the war is not a feel-good issue, it is difficult to judge how the surge of troops is progressing, the U.S. position on what type of Iraq we want is undecided, and the issue of an all-out civil war there is problematic.