Ouch
So there was Hillary Rodham Clinton grandstanding for the television cameras last week, giving Donald Rumsfeld a carefully scripted chewing out for his role in the Bush administration's lunatic war in Iraq.
...
Slick Willie has morphed into Slick Hilly, as the carnival of death in Iraq goes on.
Bob Herbert's complaint, below
Casual viewers could have been forgiven for not realizing that Senator Clinton has long been a supporter of this war, and that even now, with the number of pointless American deaths moving toward 2,600, her primary goal apparently is not to find an end game, but to figure out the most expedient political position to adopt -- the one that will do the least damage to her presidential ambitions.
Mrs. Clinton is trying to have it both ways. A couple of months ago, she told a gathering in Washington: "I do not think it is a smart strategy either for the president to continue with his open-ended commitment, which I think does not put enough pressure on the new Iraqi government." She then added, "Nor do I think it is smart strategy to set a date certain."
Almost no one has been right about Iraq longer than Herbert. No one has written more in defense of our soldiers, called a sham war, a sham war and been harder on the Bush Administration for the Iraq Debacle than Herbert. The man deserves a Pulitzer. And, unlike Dowd, he is not a Clinton hater. But even he has his limits. And, he believes it is time for Hillary (and everyone else) to stop tiptoeing around the issue. Anyone can call for Rumsfeld's head -- that's a no-brainer (pun intended). And, many have. While there is a certain justice in seeing Rumsfeld's head roll, we will just end up with another dead-ender or ex-senator in his place.
Herbert expects more:
Mrs. Clinton, other Democrats and whatever sensible Republicans may still be out there should be getting together to work out a plan for an orderly withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. This was not a war we were ever going to win. It's time we brought our involvement to an end.
Amen, brother.
