As soundbites scripted for debates go, I really like this one from today’s event in Chicago:
I’m much less irked about Hillary Clinton’s politically calculated vote for the war in 2002 than I am about John Kerry’s wimpy-ass presidential campaign in 2004
“For 15 years, I have stood up against the right-wing machine and I’ve come out stronger. So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I’m your girl,” [Sen. Hillary] Clinton said.
What’s important this time is winning, and not just in the margins. It’s clear that Bush will not be impeached. The only recourse to accountability left for impeachment advocates is to ensure his party gets a thumpin’ of biblical proportions next year.
I’m still undecided about Clinton (and Obama and Edwards) and leaning toward Bill Richardson. But the threshold issue for me has never been Clinton’s politically calculated vote to authorize Bush’s war in 2002. It’s which candidate is the least likely to run a wimpy-ass campaign like John Kerry’s in 2004. If you can’t defeat Karl Rove, the Swiftboaters and their ilk, you don’t deserve to be the Democratic nominee, much less the president.
The candidate who wins the Democratic primaries next year needs to go on the offensive out the gate. Standing up to the rightwing lies and smears is a good first step. If Clinton walks the talk, who knows, she could be just the woman to do it.
