As an Edwards supporter, this makes me both exhilarated and nervous:
Democrat John Edwards Wednesday repudiated the notion that there is a "global war on terror"[...]
"We need a post-Bush, post-9/11, post-Iraq military that is mission focused on protecting Americans from 21st-century threats, not misused for discredited ideological purposes," Edwards said. "By framing this as a war, we have walked right into the trap the terrorists have set — that we are engaged in some kind of clash of civilizations and a war on Islam."
In the first presidential debate last month in South Carolina, Edwards was one of four Democrats — including Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel — who said they did not believe there was a global war on terror. Front-runners Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) indicated that they did.
Exhilarated, because he is giving eloquent voice to a belief that I (and most others here, I'm sure) have long held. Nervous, because--more than most here--I like my Democrats to be cautious and avoid giving the GOP easy ammunition.
Clearly, Clinton and Obama share that concern, given their public support for the notion of a "war on terror" (you have to think that in their heart of hearts they are of the same mind as Edwards). I think it's clear that this would have been political suicide in 2004. Have we advanced to the point where it is no longer a dealbreaker with swing voters?