Martyrdom - Democrat Style

The Democratic Party, in its zeal to find a sacrificial candidate, has had many people attempt to make themselves viable candidates. The volunteers have been less than politically outstanding as evidenced by their incredible ability to self-destruct. First it was John Kerry, now Howard Dean has sacrificed himself to the God of Stupid Comments.

Asked if the Iraqi people are better off now than they were under Saddam, Dean said, "We don't know that yet. We don't know that yet, Wolf....."

Message to the Presidential candidates: If you can't see the inherent good in the liberation of Iraq - don't run. Challenge the need to go in; challenge the way we are running the peace. Those are legitimate points of contention (even if I will probably think you're wrong and/or nuts).

But don't ever answer a simple yes or no question about good and evil with a "don't know."

And if you can't answer Wolf's question with a "yes" you had better explain really, really well why Jacques Chirac is your proposed running mate. Because if you think that Iraqis dying by the thousands under Saddam is better than them arguing about what kind of government they want, well then you're just not Presidential material. A President has to have some moral clarity; if you can't admit that Saddam's regime was an absolute evil, you don't deserve to be in command of your car, much less the global superpower.

So now two candidates have really disqualified themselves, even though they will still raise money and pretend to play the game. Who's next? Bob Graham? I'm from Florida and I haven't really heard anything from him or about him - not a real candidate. Al Sharpton? I'd be more electable than him - and I can't run until the next election cycle! John Edwards? The guy from North Carolina? He looks like he's a good soundbite guy, but I haven't really heard anything from him.

If this is the best that the Dems have to offer, it could be a long, boring campaign. Someone needs to give Bush a challenge. Otherwise it would take all the fun out of it.