JOE'S MOMENT:

Democrats, Wary of War in Iraq, Also Worry About Battling Bush (ALISON MITCHELL, September 14, 2002, NY Times)

In an interview today, Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota, the majority leader, seemed to symbolize the ferment in his party as he openly wrestled with his position on Iraq.

He ticked off the questions he said were worth asking. What would military action do to the broader war on terrorism? What kind of "governmental organizational presence" would be needed in Iraq if Saddam Hussein were deposed? Would an incursion into a country that had not struck first create a precedent for India to strike Pakistan?

Mr. Daschle bristled at the idea that Congressional Democrats should simply, unquestioningly, fall behind Mr. Bush, saying, "Now we're not going to just blindly say whatever it is you want, you've got." Yet he also indicated he wanted to work with the president to avoid a partisan vote on the use of force, saying, "We would be inclined to work with the administration to see what we could do to fashion a resolution that would accommodate his needs."

Just because Democrats are asking questions, Mr. Daschle added, "it would be unfortunate if people drew from that a premature conclusion that we were opposed to what the president's doing."

More than a decade ago, during the Persian Gulf crisis, the Congressional Democratic leadership openly battled with Mr. Bush's father about the gulf war. Democrats split over the issue, with a majority voting against the resolution that authorized President George Bush to use force.

The war turned out to be an enormous success, and the Democrats found that in debating the issues surrounding it, they had revived old doubts about their strength on national security. Party strategists say it is lost on no one that of the three Democrats who have been on the national ticket since then, Bill Clinton endorsed the war and Al Gore and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut both voted for it.

Though it ultimately proved to be a profoundly dishonest moment, it was Joe Lieberman's scalding speech about Bill Clinton's behavior that gave the democrats the cover they needed to then vote to keep the perp-in-chief in office. They need Mr. Lieberman to step up again, probably as soon as this week, and give a speech that supports the war but incorporates their concerns, in order to give those who are wifty on the issue the cover they need to oppose the war.
Posted by Orrin Judd at September 14, 2002 12:31 PM