Hillary Clinton will be in Portland this week for a fund raiser for her senate re-election campaign. You might think I’d be there. After all, I’ve attended other events in Portland and elsewhere where the senator has spoken. But not this time.
Senator Clinton’s support for the Iraq War – clearly the most important and far-reaching public policy issue of this decade – has been since the beginning a mistake.
The obvious reason for a West Coast trip is to build support for a 2008 presidential run (she clearly doesn’t need the money for her Senate campaign where the Republicans cannot even field a candidate against her). Many believe that her support for the president’s failed policies in Iraq is simply a move to counter her liberal image in a general national election.
You will not find me supporting a candidate for president in the primaries that voted for and continues to support a Middle East policy that destabilizes the region and increases the risk of terrorism against the United States. Former Senator John Edwards, another possible candidate in 2008, admitted in recent months that his vote to authorize the war was a mistake.
Senator Clinton will need to do the same if she ever wants my vote for president.
