Regardless of the perception you might have gotten from recent commentfights, I don't hate John Edwards. I just don't prefer John Edwards. That said, I absolutely agree with his decision to be forthright and honest about his Iraq vote. Like a lot of Americans, most Senators, and virtually all of the candidates, he was wrong about Iraq, he says so, and he apologizes and expresses regret about it. The ability to admit mistakes and learn from them is an important trait for any human being, even a Presidential candidate. Edwards has demostrated he has that trait and, in doing so, he's also put the Iraq vote issue to rest for him. That is, someone like Obama (who was right from the get go) can't club Edwards with the issue without seeming like he's beating on a dead horse.

But at this point, my suggestion would be that Edwards not try to squeeze more out of this than he already has. Hillary's refusal to be forthright about her mistake certainly has weakened her on both the character and Iraq issues, but I think it's a mistake for Edwards to try to take too much advantage of that weakness. An example of going too far with this issue is Edwards' expression of pride at admitting his mistake. I mean, yes, you get points for recognizing the mistake and admitting it. But the bottom line is that it was a huge mistake that contributed to the loss of well over 3000 American lives. I'm glad you said you're sorry, but I'm not going to give you an award for it.

A President who can admit his mistakes and learn from them would be great. One who avoids disasterous mistakes in the first place would be pretty good, too.

Analogcabin @ 9:39 AM
Permalink |