1115.org

Obviously the race for the 2008 nomination isn’t going to be pretty, and I’m actually looking forward to seeing how everyone does under pressure and knee-deep in negative attacks. But if this is how Team Hillary plans to do battle — this time in response to John Edwards‘ Riverside Church speech — wake me when it’s over:

Said Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson: “In 2004, John Edwards used to constantly brag about running a positive campaign. Today, he has unfortunately chosen to open his campaign with political attacks on Democrats who are fighting the Bush administration’s Iraq policy.”

2004 was a long time ago. I didn’t agree with Edwards’ decision to brand himself as the “positive candidate,” but that wasn’t my call. However, three years later it’s comical for Wolfson to engage in this manner. Edwards didn’t take some kind of lifelong pledge giving up any right to ever criticize another candidate, and in case Wolfson doesn’t have access to The Google, Hillary spent 2004 (also 2002, 2003, 2005, and much of 2006) supporting the Iraq War:

(4/21/04) “Obviously, I’ve thought about that [2002 Iraq War vote] a lot in the months since,” she said. “No, I don’t regret giving the president authority because at the time it was in the context of weapons of mass destruction, grave threats to the United States, and clearly, Saddam Hussein had been a real problem for the international community for more than a decade.”

Hillary has been second only to Joementum in her Iraq hawkishness, making it worse by adopting administration frames in doing so. She’s certainly allowed to change her mind, and coming out against the escalation is a good first step, but she shouldn’t have waited until after the ‘06 elections to do the right thing. Edwards has been leading on this issue for some time, including being one of the first Senators to admit that his 2002 vote authorizing force was a mistake. Hillary’s new membership in the group of Democrats opposing the President’s escalation is welcome, but hardly a stable enough platform to lob such an attack on Edwards.