I was thrilled to see that Ned Lamont had an op-ed in the Hartford Courant today - Iraq: One Way Or The Other.
His topic is once again Iraq and his analysis is so to the point. He states:
If you believe the Churchillian rhetoric, it's time to move from Donald Rumsfeld's minimalist force to Colin Powell's overwhelming force. To do that, you must prepare the American people for the real costs of war, financial and human - with the prospect of higher taxes and a draft; and you must sober up the people to the fact that we will be in Iraq a long time, as long as necessary to transform the country and the region.
To stay or to go - we cannot have it both ways. As columnist Tom Friedman framed the choice: We have either 10 months or 10 years in Iraq. Sen. John McCain said we must send the troops necessary to win the war; otherwise, it is "immoral" to leave our outnumbered troops to die.
He then lays it on the line
It is high time for Washington to decide. Splitting the difference is politically palatable, but it is the coward's way out and simply delays the inevitable.
Lamont then adds the following thoughts about the political context:
The political worldview in Washington right now is schizophrenic: cautious at home and a daredevil abroad. Sending 140,000 predominantly Christian troops into the heart of Islam and expecting them to be greeted as liberators - that is a faith-based initiative. But on the domestic front, our government seems to have given up trying to make a difference. Our health care system is broken, our transportation system is breaking, our education system is a tale of two cities, we are more dependent upon oil, and our deficit is about to fall off the cliff. Washington responds with a tax credit here or an earmark there. Iraq is sucking all the oxygen out of the real policy debates, which are long overdue.
This last point on the costs of the war is so significant.
I am so pleased to see him step forward again into the political debate.
UPDATE: Several people including me mentioned that we want Ned Lamont to be out in the public arena. I would like his op-eds in the NYT or other national venue and would like to see him on talk shows, Daily Show, etc. I really like his style. Is anyone talking to him? Can Kos help?