Iraq a dilemma for potential 2008 presidential hopefuls
By Associated Press
Published November 26, 2005
WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry initially voted in favor of a resolution calling on President Bush to explain his strategy for success in Iraq.
Minutes later, the Democrat changed his vote.
The scene underscores the risks facing every politician trying to determine an appropriate and politically wise response to a war that's become increasingly divisive with the public.
For those considering a presidential run in 2008, the stakes are particularly high. Any position they take is a gamble given the uncertain terrain in Iraq and the United States in three years.
"If you stake out too specific of a position this early, you may have to take that back, and you can only zig and zag so many times in American politics," said Darrell West, a political scientist at Brown University in Rhode Island.
So potential presidential candidates have stark decisions to make:
--Do they stick with President Bush's stay-the-course strategy, and risk being dragged down if things go badly?
--Do they present their own detailed plans to bring U.S. troops home - and open themselves to criticism of cutting and running?
--Do they take the same stance they always have, and leave themselves vulnerable to claims that they failed to respond to the changing situation?
Governors and others beyond Washington considering a White House run are under less pressure to declare positions on the war because they don't have to vote on it.
Those in Congress don't have that luxury. Senators vote several times a year on spending bills that pay for the war, and sometimes on Iraq resolutions like the two the Senate considered last week.
A Democratic measure, which the Senate rejected, called for a timetable for withdrawing troops. A Republican alternative, which passed, asked the White House for "its strategy for the successful completion of the mission in Iraq" but omitted a timetable.
Kerry, last year's Democratic presidential candidate, voted for the GOP resolution. He then left the chamber and was seen talking briefly to Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. Kerry then returned to the chamber and changed his vote.
Craig Smith, a Democrat who ran Sen. Joe Lieberman's presidential campaign last year, said the war is clearly the No. 1 issue. "But anybody who thinks staking out a position now is going to have much of an impact in 2008, I think, is kidding themselves," Smith said. "Anybody who proceeds to stake out a definite position now does so at their own peril."
