I have gotten into a discussion with another in the "Dean Star Wars" thread about whether Edwards is still echoing Republican talking points on Saddam's nuke capabilities. I say that the below from the Chris Matthews interview indicates that he is, whereas some Edwards supporters disagree.
First read the transcript below.
EDWARDS: Well, the first thing I should say is I take responsibility for my vote. Period. And I did what I did based upon a belief, Chris, that Saddam Hussein's potential for getting nuclear capability was what created the threat. That was always the focus of my concern. Still is the focus of my concern.
[my comment: That last line is pretty damning, imo]
EDWRADS: But now we're getting to the second part of your question. I think we have to get to the bottom of this. I think there's clear inconsistency between what's been found in Iraq and what we were told.
And as you know, I serve on the Senate Intelligence Committee. So it wasn't just the Bush administration. I sat in meeting after meeting after meeting where we were told about the presence of weapons of mass destruction. There is clearly a disconnect between what we were told and what, in fact, we found there.
MATTHEWS: If you knew last October when you had to cast an aye or nay vote for this war, that we would be unable to find weapons of mass destruction after all these months there, would you still have supported the war?
EDWARDS: It wouldn't change my views. I said before, I think that the threat here was a unique threat. It was Saddam Hussein, the potential for Saddam getting nuclear weapons, given his history and the fact that he started the war before.
MATTHEWS: Do you feel now that you have evidence in your hands that he was on the verge of getting nuclear weapons?
EDWARDS: No, I wouldn't go that far.
[note: this last line is what Edwards supporters say proves that he doesn't believe that Saddam was on the verge of getting nuclear weapons anymore]
I would posit that by bringing up the whole nukes issue again Edwards is simply trying to defend his vote, and that he's trying to imply that he still feels the nukes were a threat (see, again, the "Still is...my concern" line. Like President-Select Bush, he doesn't actually say "I still believe that Saddam would have had nuclear weapons within 9 months," but he does everything except say that. I would also state that the last line just says that Edwards doesn't have evidence of the nukes, not that he doesn't believe they were never a threat.
So, go ahead and vote. If you vote the latter, I'll never mention it again.