Edwards: "I was wrong"

This is indeed interesting. Edwards is probably the first serious '08 contender who voted for the IWR to say this and in such a public way. Admitting that in retrospect the vote was wrong, something everyone now knows, has been hard and I think Edwards offers a convincing explanation of just why that is:

It was a mistake to vote for this war in 2002. I take responsibility for that mistake. It has been hard to say these words because those who didn't make a mistake -- the men and women of our armed forces and their families -- have performed heroically and paid a dear price.

This statement by Edwards is important in so many, many ways. Of course it was frustrating that Kerry didn't make a similar statement in 2004. But looking ahead, this statement by Edwards will force every Democratic candidate for president to either make a similar statement or to, once again, seek ways to defend their vote. We've seen how the wingers always twist and misconstrue the vote for the Iraq War Resolution. And it ought to be pretty plain to most voters that with a President Gore or a President Kerry we would have never gone into Iraq to begin with. But, the Edwards statement is perhaps simplest to understand and it's probably not a bad idea for Democrats who have latched on to the idea that Bush must accept accountability for Iraq to accept some measure of it themselves for not being far-sighted enough to see what an irresponsible administration would do with a war resolution.