John Edwards Is Our Best Chance to Avoid War With Iran

Todd Bennett was a very harsh critic of John Edwards, until...

Edwards Is Our Best Chance to Avoid War With Iran
by Todd Bennett, Sat Oct 06, 2007 at 12:47:22 PM EST

This forum has been one that in the past, I have used to engage in some hyperbole against candidates not a Senator from New York. I bought into notions about her intelligence and leadership, and then I heard about the Lieberman/Kyl amendment. For purposes of good reporting, I will refer you to a quote from TomP explaining this vile piece of mortar connected to the the continuing building of the corporatists' permanent war:

Let's talk about Iran, because it is all connected, and her recent vote on Iran reveals her underlying philosophy. Last week, Hillary Clinton voted for the terrible Lieberman-Kyl amendment.

By a vote 76-22, the Senate passed the Lieberman-Kyl amendment, which threatens to "combat, contain and [stop]" Iran via "military instruments." Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) called the amendment "Cheney's fondest pipe dream" and said it could "read as a backdoor method of gaining Congressional validation for military action."

This is intolerable. It has now become my opinion that Iraq and Iran are not just Bush's war, but the corporatist's war. Sadly, that includes both Democrats and Republicans. Landrieu, Pryor, Nelson of Nebraska, and Clinton have all taken much too hawkish of stands.

Moreover, she seems to be developing a certain cockiness about it, one that is grating on me. I like and respect her, however there are some things I can not swallow, and a permanent for profit war/colonization of the Middle East is one of them.

There is an alternative. Foolishly I bought into memes about Edwards ability to handle the media, and his war vote. Yes, Edwards did at one point promote this war, however I do believe his conversion is genuine. My stomach is in knots over this Iran rhetoric, so as a responsible Democrat I did some research, and here is what I found about John from The American Prospect in an interview with Ezra Klein. I have found much more, but this represents a good sample, and explains the candidate preference I state towards the end of this diary. Far from my enemy, he is more like my Brother on the issues I care about, and that affect so many:

...

In fairness, Hillary has also spoken about the mistake of not exhausting the inspections, however in retrospect, John's leadership since November of 2005 on this issue is clear. The man courageously admits a mistake and learns from it and speaks of the lessons we can take from it. Folks, I was wrong about John. Flat out. I suppose the Obama people would have a claim when speaking about war judgment, however realistically, he has shown little leadership in the Senate on it, and a series of missed votes recently has me questioning his political acumen and intent. I will be deleting my previous Anti-Edwards diaries and barring a late Gore entry, my choice is now clear, and I would like to respectully ask the Edwards folks to welcome me aboard and accept my apologies for my lack of research and due dilligence. It is readily apparent who the best person for the Presidency is: John Reid Edwards.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/10/6/124722/911