ATRIOS ON GEPHARDT. Oh, snap! It’s actually interesting how little opprobrium Dick Gephardt attracts from Democrats as it was he, more so than Clinton, or Lieberman, or Baucus, or anyone else, who undercut the party’s ability to oppose the Iraq War. When he signed the Rose Garden compromise with Bush, he ended the ability of other Democrats to unite behind alternative plans, like the Biden-Lugar legislation, that would’ve slowed the march to war, limited its aims, and increased congressional oversight. One of my pet arguments is that no congressional leaders should be allowed to run for president within five years of holding the speaker, majority, or minority leader positions. Gephardt is a prime reason why.
–Ezra Klein
