What should have been occasion for serious, informed debate over the role of the United States in Iraq turned into an embarrassing round of ugly name-calling and temper tantrums.

Americans, including those now serving in Iraq, clearly deserve better than this.

It's time to get past the partisan politics and begin a serious national debate on where we go from here, and how.

The latest firestorm was launched last week by Democrat John Murtha, a former Marine, Vietnam veteran and early supporter of the war, who called for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Murtha's plan called for "immediate redeployment of troops consistent with the safety of U.S. forces, to create a quick reaction force in the region, to create an over-the-horizon presence of Marines and to diplomatically pursue security and stability in Iraq."

A reasoned position. But freshman Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio opted to pass on a message she said she received from someone in her district: "Cowards cut and run. Marines never do."

That led to howls of indignation from Murtha's Democratic colleagues.

A White House spokesman then declared himself "baffled" that Murtha would associate himself with the policy positions of filmmaker Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Come on.

Murtha then took his shots, describing President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney as guys who received deferments and have never been to war, yet send people to war.

So much for a sober debate. Tempers cooled slightly over the past couple of days, with Cheney praising Murtha as a patriot, while continuing to make it clear he disagrees with him entirely on this matter.

And it is true that setting a specific date for withdrawal from Iraq would be a tactical mistake that would play into the hands of the insurgents.

It is equally legitimate to argue that the United States cannot afford nor support an open-ended commitment to Iraq without a clear idea of what our objectives are and how success will be measured.

Serious and reasoned debate about our future in Iraq is needed now, particularly at the highest levels in Washington. What we witnessed this past week was anything but that.