The 'Iraq tried to negotiate to avoid war' story is bad news for Dean [View All]

[NewYorkerfromMass]

Why?- because it proves the value of a hawkish stance, and justifies a 'YES' vote on IWR.
Inspectors would not have been in the country w/o it, and many good things could have come from just the threat of force hanging over Saddam. Kerry in fact, has said this. Congress gave Bush the gun, and it was up to Bush whether to pull the trigger or not. 'Threat of war' and actual war are entirely different things.

I don't see where this supports Dean's hypothetical 'NO' vote, and it begs the question Kerry asked Dean in Detroit- 'What would Dean do about Iraq?' (before a war, not after). This is one of the many things Dean will have to face in a general election vs. Bush- What would a President Dean do about Saddam?

The GOP will have now have even less trouble painting Dean as the thing America fears the most- a 'weak on defense liberal'. This on top of his "We won"t always have the strongest military." comment.