The Plank

The PlankSPECIAL OUT-OF-IRAQ EDITION:

John Edwards in the new issue of The Nation:

In an interview after the UNC speech, Edwards finally utters the words he'd assiduously avoided during the last campaign: "I voted for the [2002 Iraq war] resolution," he says. "It was a mistake."... "The hard question is, What do you do now? Looking back, it's easy to say that it was wrong and based on false information. Anybody who doesn't admit that isn't honest, and that's the truth.... [W]e have to find ways to start bringing our troops home. Our presence there is clearly contributing to the problem." So does he agree with Senator Russ Feingold that Washington should set a withdrawal deadline? "No. Even if we're going to say that internally, that we're gonna have our troops out by X date, there's no reason to announce that to the world. I think that's probably a mistake." He doesn't agree, either, with Senator Clinton's call for more US troops to finish the job? "No sir!" Edwards says, sitting straight up in his chair. "Did she really say that?" [emphasis added]

Love that last line! But this entire passage goes right to a defining issue for the 2008 Democratic hopefuls, one they'll certainly use to position themselves in the coming months. Edwards's words are the latest sign that the Democratic pack is drifting leftward on the withdrawal question. If you're interested, I delve into this a bit in a piece on the aforementioned Russ Feingold--"The Hillary Slayer"--in this week's TNR.

PS Tomorrow's presidential campaign today: John McCain is already smacking down the withdrawal Democrats. This comes from a Thursday speech McCain delivered at AEI:

Because we cannot pull out and hope for the best, because we cannot withdraw and manage things from afar, because morality and our security compel it, we have to see this mission through to completion. Senator Kerry's call for the withdrawal of 20,000 American troops by year's end represents, I believe, a major step on the road to disaster. Drawdowns must be based on conditions in-country, not arbitrary deadlines rooted in our domestic politics.

McCain is right about arbitrary deadlines and domestic politics. But that supposes the occupation is doing less harm than good. One also wonders whether, as the 2006 midterm elections approach, McCain's own party will share his tough-it-out attitude.

--Michael Crowley