WHY IS GORDON SMITH HERE? You could argue that having Gordon Smith attend your progressive foreign policy event made sense if his rhetorical apostasies were actually resulting in him offering his vote on various progressive foreign policy priorities. But that's not happening with any regularity. Instead, he's offering some criticisms of the war and support on occasional amendments in return for an accelerating reputation as a brave, independent, truth-teller -- exactly the sort of thing that will get him reelected in 2008. And by giving him marquee speaker slots at progressive conferences, his branding effort is strengthened, and replacing him with a more committed ally of progressive foreign policy approaches becomes ever less likely. Worse, CAP and TCF don't seem to have vetted his speech. Gordon's just offering Iran hawkery. No demand for talks, or negotiations, or a softening in the US position -- just warnings that Iran will kick off a new regional arms race ("with Israel caught in the middle"), laments over their human rights abuses, and calls for stringent economic sanctions. Hell, he's even threatening "consequences" for Moscow if they continue to be friendly towards Iran. Is this really what CAP and TCF want to be promoting? On the bright side, I must say: Smith is particularly well-dressed for a politician. Rarely do senators show the sartorial courage to pair a sleek beige jacket with an emerald green tie. --Ezra Klein
