John Edwards

I'm a John Edwards fan. He didn't come from a wealthy family and attended a state university. (Fuck the Ivy League. They aren't so special. Hell, George W. Bush went to Harvard and Yale.) His message in the 2004 campaign of "two Americas" was excellent. During the campaign people understood it but it was drowned out by terrorism and Iraq. After Katrina though, the "two Americas" message carries extra weight. Now Edwards is addressing the Iraq War. Here's what he says about his vote for it in 2002.

In an interview after the UNC speech, Edwards finally utters the words he'd assiduously avoided during the last campaign: "I voted for the resolution," he says. "It was a mistake." So far, so good. But he goes on, "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." So what now? "I myself feel conflicted about it," Edwards replies. "But we have to find ways--and I don't mean just yanking all the troops tomorrow--but we 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?"

I still don't completely agree with Edwards. I believe Feingold's position is better. Giving a withdrawal date makes the Iraqi's start preparing for American troops not being there. If the Iraqi government knows the Americans will not be there to protect them, I'm sure they will be much more motivated to develope security forces and come to political agreements just for self-preservation.
I am hopefull for the 2008 election. Clark, Edwards, Schweitzer, Warner, Feingold, and Richardson are all candidates I'd support. As for Biden and Clinton, I am absolutely certain not to be supporting either of them. Biden is a pompous ass owned by MBNA. Clinton has gone around the bend on Iraq and no matter how conservative she acts she will still be a polarizing figure that would unite the Republican base.