Starting Gate: Back Where It Started?
Iraq takes center stage in the presidential campaign this week, taking us right back to where we began in this campaign. About a year ago, Hillary Clinton was beginning the process of trying to position herself on the war, something that appeared to be her only real hurdle to winning the Democratic nomination.
Forget that moment in the debate in Philadelphia where Clinton flubbed the question on illegal drivers licenses (which didn't help). Take out of the equation Bill Clinton's racially tinged comments surrounding the South Carolina primary (which really hurt). And discount Clinton's Bosnia misstatements and other minor flubs on the campaign trail (the cumulative effect of which have been damaging). Iraq may be the biggest reason she faces daunting odds at a comeback this late in the game.
When she entered the race, Clinton was faced with a problem that appeared to call for some smart political jujitsu: Find a way to soothe the anti war faction of the Democratic Party for the primary without putting boxing herself in for the general election. That's why when John Edwards made a point of actually apologizing for his vote to authorize the war and called on Clinton to do the same, she fudged.
It was, she maintained, the right thing to do at the time, especially in order to put pressure on Iraq and the international community to find a peaceful solution. The actual decision to invade, she said, belonged to the Bush administration and was not one she had signed on for. Her position left open plenty of room to criticize the conduct for the war but left many in the party wondering whether she actually regretted her 2002 vote.
That uncertainty at the very provided an opening for another candidate in a nomination battle that appeared almost pre-ordained when the Iraq discussion was taking place in earnest last spring and summer. Edwards, who was the most vocal anti-war candidate may have gotten some mileage from his apology but it has been Barack Obama's opposition to the war even before that 2002 vote (when he was not in the Senate) combined with his persona that ended up capturing the hearts of many in the party for whom the vote to authorize the war remains unforgivable.
Had Obama never given that speech in Chicago speaking out against the war, his opposition at the time could be called into question (and the Clinton campaign has still tried to point out inconsistencies in his statements). But he did, and Clinton's careful tightrope walk may well have provided the oxygen for his campaign to take off – and may still be a major reason for her loss if she fails to mount a historic comeback.
Obama Doesn't Follow On Boycott: After Clinton yesterday called on President Bush to skip the opening ceremonies for this summer's Olympics in China as a way to protest that country's crackdown in Tibet, Barack Obama released a statement of his own. "I have been deeply disturbed by the recent events in Tibet, and have communicated my concerns in public and to President Bush," Obama said in the statement. "As I have said repeatedly, the Chinese government must take immediate steps to respect the dignity, security, human rights and religious freedom of the Tibetan people, to provide foreign press and diplomats with access to the region, and to finally work with the Dalai Lama toward meaningful autonomy for Tibet. If they do not, there should be consequences."
The "Hitman" Cometh: Bill Clinton, the self-described "rural hitman" for his wife's campaign, visited Puerto Rico yesterday, where the campaign could find a hefty cache of both delegates and popular votes. Puerto Rico recently changed its process from a caucus to a primary and has 63 delegates up for stake. Clinton promised his wife would help revitalize the economy and bring health better health care to the Island and praised its place in the process. "It is a good thing that your voice will be heard all across the United States," he said.
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