For Democrats, Iraq Makes for a Robust Debate
DES MOINES—Sen. Joe Biden calls his new Iowa campaign ad "Cathedral," and in it he talks about how the cargo plane he took back from a trip to Iraq was transformed to a cathedral because it carried a dead soldier in a flag-draped coffin.
The moving spot was played about a half-hour into yesterday's's Democratic debate in Iowa, when the questions by moderator George Stephanopoulos of ABC's This Week turned to the quagmire in Iraq.
What followed was one of the more robust discussions to date among the eight Democratic candidates about the war, and one that also emphasized the differences in exit strategies they advocate—from immediate pullout of all troops to a longer commitment to stabilize and partition the country.
With Gov. Bill Richardson among those advocating a full and immediate pullout, Biden warning that unity and stability in Iraq won't happen "in the lifetime of anyone here," and the others somewhere in the middle, could the wide field of Democrats be undermining their strength on the single biggest issue of the 2008 election?
Post-debate Democratic spinners insisted the chances of the Dems losing ground to Republicans on the war issue were unlikely—or "none whatsoever," said Democratic Party chair Howard Dean. "We're all for getting out, and they're all for staying in."
Said David Axelrod, Sen. Barack Obama's chief strategist: "I don't think the differences are that profound. These are nuances. There is broad agreement."
In fact, during the debate, the leading contenders seemed to begin to move toward Biden's position that the country should adopt a strategy similar to the one used to bring peace to the Balkans, which takes a significant time commitment.
"We separated the parties" there, Biden said. "We have peace." It's time, he said, to start "leveling with the American people."
Sen. Hillary Clinton warned that it's a massive, complicated undertaking—and that it's important that "we don't oversell this." John Edwards noted that any Democrat would end the war.
The differences between the candidates on getting out of a highly unpopular war may lessen in September, when Congress expects an Iraq status report from Gen. David Petraeus, and the Democrats—and Republicans—can begin to sharpen their proposals.
But Sunday the issue began to feel just a bit muddied, with a few clouds hugging the horizon.
advertisement
