Gary Hart, the former US senator from Colorado and noted foreign affairs expert, had this to say today in The Washington Post concerning Iraq and the Democratic Party:

History will deal with George W. Bush and the neoconservatives who misled a mighty nation into a flawed war that is draining the finest military in the world, diverting Guard and reserve forces that should be on the front line of homeland defense, shredding international alliances that prevailed in two world wars and the Cold War, accumulating staggering deficits, misdirecting revenue from education to rebuilding Iraqi buildings we've blown up, and weakening America's national security.

But what will history say about an opposition party that stands silent while all this goes on? My generation of Democrats jumped on the hot stove of Vietnam and now, with its members in positions of responsibility, it is afraid of jumping on any political stove. In their leaders, the American people look for strength, determination and self-confidence, but they also look for courage, wisdom, judgment and, in times of moral crisis, the willingness to say: "I was wrong."

To stay silent during such a crisis, and particularly to harbor the thought that the administration's misfortune is the Democrats' fortune, is cowardly.

Hart has always been one of the great thinkers of the Democratic Party. He’d make a great secretary of a defense in a future administration. Volunteering on his presidential campaign in 1984 (before I was even old enough to vote) is a great memory of mine. Click here to read his full op-ed. Senator Hart is right on target.