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Saturday, June 04, 2005
Time to Apologize
[UPDATED: NOW WITH LINKS!]
I agree with Janfrel that the Democrats who voted for the war should apologize for their votes and say straight up that they were mistaken. My personal feeling is that they should convene a group press conference on the steps of the Capitol building and apologize together with a signed letter.
This may sound like a strange suggestion, but I think it would show strength and it very well could make the Democrats more popular. About 60-70% of Americans supported the war when it was launched, as did about 60% of Democrats in the Senate and House. That has shifted and now about 55-60% of Americans oppose the war. Now, I don't think we should look at poll numbers when making grave decisions such as deciding when to go to war. But I do think that the story of these Democrats is similar to the story of the people who supported the Iraq War in the beginning and now think it was a mistake. And I do not see how this could hurt the Democrats given the fact that now the anti-war people and the people who now realize the war was a mistake represent a majority.
Not only will it not necessarily hurt the Democrats, it could really help them going into 2006 by giving a moral force to their arguments against the current conduct of this war--instead of what appears to many as political opportunism given their votes on the war.
Americans are so sick and tired of being manipulated that if the Democrats got together and apologized for their mistake in voting for Iraq, they would gain a lot of respect at the same time that Bush is criticized (rightly) for never addmitting to having made a mistake.
[One more poll: The CNN Poll from above was the one taken at the beginning of May. This Time Magazine Poll shows similar numbers from May 10-12.]
I agree with Janfrel that the Democrats who voted for the war should apologize for their votes and say straight up that they were mistaken. My personal feeling is that they should convene a group press conference on the steps of the Capitol building and apologize together with a signed letter.
This may sound like a strange suggestion, but I think it would show strength and it very well could make the Democrats more popular. About 60-70% of Americans supported the war when it was launched, as did about 60% of Democrats in the Senate and House. That has shifted and now about 55-60% of Americans oppose the war. Now, I don't think we should look at poll numbers when making grave decisions such as deciding when to go to war. But I do think that the story of these Democrats is similar to the story of the people who supported the Iraq War in the beginning and now think it was a mistake. And I do not see how this could hurt the Democrats given the fact that now the anti-war people and the people who now realize the war was a mistake represent a majority.
Not only will it not necessarily hurt the Democrats, it could really help them going into 2006 by giving a moral force to their arguments against the current conduct of this war--instead of what appears to many as political opportunism given their votes on the war.
Americans are so sick and tired of being manipulated that if the Democrats got together and apologized for their mistake in voting for Iraq, they would gain a lot of respect at the same time that Bush is criticized (rightly) for never addmitting to having made a mistake.
[One more poll: The CNN Poll from above was the one taken at the beginning of May. This Time Magazine Poll shows similar numbers from May 10-12.]
