The Republicans were more than happy at their debate yesterday to ignore the fact that

The Republicans were more than happy at their debate yesterday to ignore the fact that Des Moines Register editor Carolyn Washburn asked them not one question about Iraq. Here’s hoping that today, the Democrats force Iraq (and the NIE Iran report) into the debate. Judging by a wanky editorial in today’s Register, I expect Washburn to once again push the conversation toward “spending” issues that don’t capture the magnitude of the political challenges we face. Check back here at 2 pm EST to see if the Democrats can turn up the heat.

—Dana Goldstein

Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.