Courage

[ljm2002]

Dennis Kucinich said after the debate that it was "astonishing" to hear Senator Clinton stand up on that stage and claim she was "fooled" by Bush in regard to the invasion of Iraq.

But I think those who voted for the IWR were indeed fooled by the Bush regime regarding Iraq. Here's why: Bush and his merry band of neocons projected an easy victory.

So the political calculation on the IWR vote went something like this: (a) the invasion is sure to succeed in short order; (b) the American people are angry as all get-out over 9/11; and (c) the public accepts that Saddam was involved in 9/11. So if I vote against the IWR, I will be seen as supporting terrorists and not supporting the president. If I vote for it -- regardless of whether we "should" have gone in or not -- the war will be over quickly and it will be a moot point. Not much upside there... as a purely political calculation.

Therefore, when Hillary et al stand up there and say "I was fooled", they are not lying. Not about being fooled. The're just not being honest on what they were fooled about. They knew perfectly well that it was an illegal, immoral, and misdirected military effort -- they were never fooled about that. But they calculated that our military would prevail in short order, and as a result it would be a non-issue if they had voted for it; whereas it would be a damaging issue if they had voted against it.

Which brings up a more important point. Our leadership (with some honorable exceptions) have forgotten that in order to succeed in politics on a grand scale, the one thing that a leader must show above all else is courage. Courage to bring up tough issues. Courage to stand up to special interests. Courage to tell people the truth, even if they don't want to hear it. Courage to stand on principle when everyone around you is pandering.

There are precious few candidates out there who can demonstrate real political courage. Someone who actually factors right vs. wrong, i.e. principles, into their political calculations. I think the public is hungry for such a candidate. I know I am.