Even Hillary Clinton has finally gotten it that to win the Democratic nomination, you have to oppose the war in Iraq. With flair and style. Senator Clinton proposed today that Congress formally repeal the authorization it gave President Bush to go to war with Iraq. This, despite the fact that she has repeatedly refused to apologize for (or, in my opinion more importantly, simply to say she shouldn’t have) her support for the war measure.
Not to be outdone in his gold-star opposition to the war (which is a brilliant way to spin his lack of experience—he didn’t vote for the war because he wasn’t in Congress), Obama issued a statement saying he supported Senator Clinton’s proposal. The other hopefuls have been tripping all over themselves all week to out oppose-Iraq Clinton and Obama.
If the proposal won congressional support, it’s unclear if it would have any effect on the war, since legally it amounts to unringing the bell. But the message is clear: Whoever most strongly advocates unringing the bell will win the nomination. Which is really good news for America’s standing in the world, I think.
