John Edwards Sunday op-ed:
By on Nov 12th, 2005 at 4:04 pm
John Edwards Sunday op-ed:
“It was a mistake to vote for this war in 2002. I take responsibility for that mistake. … While we can’t change the past, we need to accept responsibility, because a key part of restoring America’s moral leadership is acknowledging when we’ve made mistakes or been proven wrong — and showing that we have the creativity and guts to make it right.”
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it takes character to say something like that… there’s this mistaken notion that admitting mistakes is a sign of vulnerability or weakness… au contraire… it’s a sign of deep strength… hats off to john edwards…
November 12th, 2005 at 4:47 pmHere here. I applaud Edwards for having the guts to admit that it was an error to vote for this failure of a war. If other Democrat leaders follow his example, then it will be a major step in the right direction. Most Americans will relate, because they made the same error of judgement. It will also put them in a much better light in comparison to an ever unapologetic President. C’mon Dems, nows the time to show that you are a true alternative to the Neocons.
November 12th, 2005 at 4:54 pmFinally, a Democratic leader with common sense and backbone. It has been exteremely frustrating to watch everyone from Kerry to Schumer answer “yes” to the predictable question “Knowing what you know now, would you have voted for the war?” Presumably, they have responded this way for fear that their answer would be taken out of context and irrationally distorted to the point where Sean Hannity is , “Senator Schumer hates the troops!!!” I wasn’t impressed with Edwards’ lackluster performance in the campaign and Cheney debate, but he has shown some real character here. Even more frustrating is that its also an argument that most Americans can understand–”I voted this way based on case and the intelligence presented by the White House.” How long before Hillary wakes up to this reasoning? If she does, and articulates it without any hedging or waffling, she walks away with the whole thing.
November 12th, 2005 at 5:41 pmNow that Edwards has admitted his mistake, he has every right to start offering solutions to get out of the Iraqi mess.
November 12th, 2005 at 6:20 pmMy gosh, this is something that needed to be said. I sat at home and understood we didn’t need to go to war and it would be a tremendous mistake for America.
While I may find it hard to forgive anyone who supported this fiasco, including democrats, I applaud all who can at the very least own up to their shortcomings. I don’t know if the public can forgive the deaths of so many, by people who should know better. It’s been a long time coming and others should now step up to the plate.
November 12th, 2005 at 6:22 pmShame on us America, but it’s the only country I have.
Perhaps after these dark days, the sun will shine again on our great country,temporarily hijacked by an idiot cowboy.
excellent news here…i, for one, can’t get too much of john edwards and his ideals and ideas…
another bit of news – and this is not a typo – there will be a program about global warming on fox news tomorrow night – i’m listening to bobby kennedy jr. on air america and he just announced this…he explained that he and roger ailes go way back and after they attended a lecture by al gore, ailes was convinced that the story needed to air…huh…anyone know if hell is frozen?
anyway, it will be interesting to see how it is done…8pm sunday
November 12th, 2005 at 6:27 pmIt’s about time a prominent leader in the Democratic Party stood up and said the obvious. Now the Republicans should do the same. Let more leaders stand up and admit the “way to war” in Iraq in 2003 was a sham. As for the boycott, will this really do any good? Will enough people really care or take part in this?
November 12th, 2005 at 8:06 pmI only see two ways to go in Iraq….quit too soon or stay until the job is done. I think after the December elections you’ll see a major push by all sides Democrat and Republican to begin a draw down of US troops. With 2006 as an election year how you stand on when to remove troops will be a defining moment for voters on both sides of the issue and candidates will need to voice how they feel about the issue.
I think we’ll have a presence in Iraq for years to come…we’re still in Korea and Germany decades after those wars.
richb
November 12th, 2005 at 8:46 pmOkay great, but let’s not celebrate his courage too much today when a little more way back when might have made a difference.
I’m no dove. I was four-square behind the action in Afghanistan. But I thought from the jump that Iraq was a diversion and an insane idea and that we wouldn’t know what to do once we’d done it.
I like John Edwards, but I have to ask the tough question. Would he be doing this if Bush was at 53 percent approval?
Nonetheless, a good thing.
New on EWM: Bush: “Democrats Killed Jesus, Invented Disco and Drove Me to Drinkâ€
November 12th, 2005 at 9:03 pmRecently, the British government learned that Democrats met with Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem before the Crucifixion.
Edwards’ suggested apology is step 10 of the “10-Point Plan on Iraq.”
November 12th, 2005 at 9:12 pmDid I just hear a democrat speak up? Well….yeah!!!!
November 12th, 2005 at 10:02 pmTo late preety boy.
November 12th, 2005 at 10:27 pmAt least Edwards is admitting what the majority of Americans recognize, invading Iraq was a mistake. But Edwards fails to offer a realistic plan to get out. It is good to accept that the war was a mistake, but it is folly to think we can make it end well. We need to set a timetable and withdraw — especially since the military’s own poll shows the overwhelming msjority of Iraqis want us out.
November 13th, 2005 at 12:49 amSince Congressional Democrats are finding the nerve to admit that they made some mistakes in interpreting intelligence and then again in voting for war, what else can we expect?
My personal wish list is topped by a desire that someone on the national political scene will declare with conviction that the so-called “war on terror” never was. This Cheney/Rove myth must be exposed and then destroyed before an international forum. The same soul-baring that’s going on over the war vote has got to happen on a much broader scale if we’re to keep from going over the brink and restore any kind of diplomatic credibility for ourselves.
November 13th, 2005 at 2:49 am#16 – It would be great to see that happen, but I don’t see it. The so-called “war on terror” is nothing but an excuse for both democrats and republicans to approve locking up the remaining large global sources of oil, by any means necessary. Democrats can’t and won’t protest this, because they were fully complicit with the program from the very start — and still are. Notice the in his mea culpa, John Edwards did NOT call for an immediate withdrawal of all the troops.
The democrats and republicans are now playing “good cop, bad cop” on this issue. The farce will drag out the debate on what should happen in Iraq, while the killing continues. No one will suggest a rational exit strategy, because the ruling elite does NOT want to leave.
November 13th, 2005 at 11:54 am“No one will suggest a rational exit strategy, because the ruling elite does NOT want to leave.”
Good point. The dirty truth is that both parties have the same interests for a military presence in Iraq. It’s not only oil – the pro-Israel lobbyists who are the core of the neocon movement were supported by Clinton as well.
This is why smaller fish, like Dean and Edwards, can take a more Anti-War stance. Those who have bigger aspirations – Hillary, Kerry – have to tone down their rehetoric to play into the collective foreign agenda.
Both parties play the same game, my only argument for the Dems is that they at least govern foreign policy better. They’re much better at Diplomacy, and strategy for that matter.
November 13th, 2005 at 1:23 pmI believe Senator Russ Feingold had the guts to vote against this war. Lets face it we went into Iraq for OIL and to make Old Bushie buddies richer.
November 13th, 2005 at 2:40 pmEveryone makes mistakes, some people admit those mistakes to themsleves and close friends. How many people admit their mistakes to the world in a major news outlet?
Let’s move forward, get the bad guys (here and there), and put the good guys back in charge.
Let’s get our Republic back in the business of protecting the individual.
Let’s take our country and our economy into the 21st Century (which by the way started 4 years ago).
We have a lot to do, whomever it is in 2008, they better lead – not rule us.
Blessings!
November 13th, 2005 at 2:53 pmRepublican are finished. The Dems will take over in 2006. Bush will be impeached.
November 13th, 2005 at 3:02 pmHere in Illinois, Dick Durbin voted against the war too.
November 13th, 2005 at 5:04 pmWhile Shep has a point in that a significant number of Democrats have yet to demand a withdrawal from Iraq (or even an exit strategy), acknowledging the mistake is definitely a step in the right direction. At least Edwards had the guts to say that…
November 14th, 2005 at 11:40 am