Gephardt admits mistake
by kos
Mon Oct 17, 2005 at 09:51:19 AM PDT
Gephardt admits mistake:
2002-10-02, the White House Rose Garden:
GEPHARDT: "In response to the President's desire for congressional support and, in keeping with our constitutional responsibilities, I have worked to draft a resolution that reflects the views of a large bipartisan segment of Congress. My underlying goal in this process has been to ensure that Iraq is disarmed, and to lessen the likelihood that weapons of mass destruction can be passed to terrorists."
This concession effectively short-circuited any attempt to attach binding conditions to a War Powers Resolution, or to weigh the WMD thesis even-handedly. On the other hand, Bush would have found a route to war in the face of any conceivable action or inaction in Congress.
2005-10-10, Seattle, WA:
GEPHARDT: "It was a mistake ... I was wrong."
My first reaction, and that of many of you I'm sure, is to think, "no shit, sherlock. Of course you were wrong. And it was obvious from the day you stood at that Rose Garden ceremony and helped enable Bush's war that you were wrong. It was so freakin' obvious!" And since Gephardt is literally history, it's not as if he wins any awards for courage for finally admitting his error. Witness Al Gore liberated from elected office, or all those retired Republicans bashing Bush and the modern Republican Party. Elected office will muzzle the best intentioned politician, retirement liberates them.
But really, if we want to achieve party unity we have to embrace those Democrats who come out from the cold. And it really, really is a good thing when one of the Democratic architects of the Iraq War admits his error and reinforces the fact that Bush lied to drag our nation into this godforsaken war.
The more we embrace exiles from the pro-war camp, the greater the exodus we'll get. And the fewer pro-war politicians of any stripes we have, the quicker we'll be able to end the war.
Update: As Atrios notes, Gephardt now needs to shout this out. Obscure audiences in Seattle are nice, the Sunday morning talk shows and cable news networks are nicer. |
