"I Was Wrong"

John Edwards adds his voice to those Democrats who are now expressing regret for voting for the Iraq war resolution with an Op-Ed piece in today's Washington Post. Many people will argue that this is just pure politics, as Edwards gears up for an inevitable 2008 run, and I'm sure that's a little bit of a factor. But I do honestly believe that he and others *do* feel regret, and do feel a responsibility, because of their vote. And I can respect a public figure who admits a mistake. Since we know the Administration never will....

The big argument on the Sunday talk shows these days is whether Congress and the Administration used the same intelligence, or whether there was manipulation or (to be less cynical) a level of selectivity in the information that the Admin shared with Congress in order to get the vote that they wanted. Tim Russert and Ken Mehlman are having that exact argument right now. (I'm so sick of hearing the phrase "cherry-picked.")

Yes, the discussion of "who knew what" and assigning responsibility is mostly a political game, as both sides will try to use it to their advantage in the next 2 election cycles. But, as Edwards discusses, the real discussion at this moment should focus on stabilizing Iraq, building more international support, and bringing our troops home safely and soon.