"The most militantly conservative Republican National Convention in the history of the republic cheered itself hoarse Tuesday night for a pro-choice, pro-civil rights, pro-labor, pro-environment champion of anti-global warming initiatives who hailed the accomplishments of Bill Clinton's presidency.
Such are the vagaries of this strangest of all national conventions that it was a member of the Senate Democratic Caucus who finally focused the attention and energy of the gathering on the campaign to prevail in what he described as "no ordinary election."
And such are the vagaries of Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman's strangest of all political journeys that the man who just eight years ago accepted the Democratic nomination for the vice presidency on Tuesday night, endorsed a Republican candidate for president with whom Lieberman disagrees on many issues and a Republican candidate for vice president with whom he disagrees on almost every issue.
What gives? It comes down, pretty much, to Iraq."
I believe Nichols is dead right, and has put his finger on a mentality that makes John McCain a suspect candidate for Commander-in-Chief. Just as George Bush as done on a whole range of issues, McCain and Lieberman are stuck with a set of beliefs about the Iraq War that simply do not square with the political or military realities of the situation. We need "true believers" in our political life, but our international relations need to be guided by principled pragmatists. I count Bob Gates, the current GOP Secretary Defense among those, and he deserves much credit for helping the U.S. move toward a safer, saner approach to the world.
- Richard Holcomb
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