- WORST MOMENT #5 - Biden and Dodd Mocking Other Candidates
- WORST MOMENT #4 - Religious Litmus Test
- WORST MOMENT #3 - No-Hope Candidates
- WORST MOMENT #2 - Tim Russert: Judge, Jury & Limelight Hog
- WORST MOMENT #1 - Spineless Top Candidates on the Iraq War
After a long summer of competitive chest-thumping by the Democrats over who:
- Would bring our troops home the fastest from Iraq;
- Would end the Iraq War the soonest;
- Differs most from the Bush administration's Iraq policies;
- Promises to show the strongest decisive leadership in ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
"SENATOR OBAMA: I think it's hard to project four years from now, and I think it would be irresponsible. We don't know what contingency will be out there.
I believe that we should have all our troops out by 2013, but I don't want to make promises not knowing what the situation's going to be three or four years out."
"SENATOR CLINTON: Well, Tim, it is my goal to have all troops out by the end of my first term. But I agree with Barack. It is very difficult to know what we're going to be inheriting.
You know, we do not know, walking into the White House in January 2009, what we're going to find."
"MR. EDWARDS: I cannot make that commitment."
Making Room for a Viable Anti-War Third Party Candidate?
Uhhh... I confess to still being confused about these answers, and look forward to clarification by the candidates.
But it makes me realize one gigantic, glaring omission: No timelines in the superlative Iraq War withdrawal plans authored by either Barack Obama (See Barack Obama's Visionary Peace Plan for Iraq.) or Hillary Clinton (See Hillary Clinton's Thoughtful Plan to End the Iraq War.)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language defines the non-biology adjective "spineless" as "Lacking courage or willpower."
By far the worst moment of the MSNBC Democratic debate was when Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards gave chillingly spineless answers to the question asking if U.S. troops will be fully withdrawn from Iraq six years from now.
I truly fear that their spineless leadership on the Iraq War could make way for a viable third-party candidate for the 2008 presidential race.... a third-party candidate who WILL commit to withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq in far less than six years.
For complete debate coverage, see:
Rating Hillary Clinton - Cumulative Scoreboard for the Debates
Rating Barack Obama - Cumulative Scoreboard for the Debates
Rating John Edwards - Cumulative Scoreboard for the Debates
Rating Bill Richardson - Cumulative Scoreboard for the Debates
