STRAW DOGS. During the Dem debate, I think it was obvious, by the way all the other candidates repeatedly jumped at the chance to change whatever the subject was at hand and readdress remarks about terrorism and the use of force made by Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel, that they considered those two candidates to be invaluable tools for "see, we're not like that" differentiation. Everyone could make the easy points about being against this war, not all wars always, reiterating the seriousness of the threat of transnational terrorism and the legitimacy of force in the face of real threats, etc. (Biden was the most explicit, in calling out the "happy talk" from Kucinich and Gravel, but everyone jumped to make the same points.)
--Sam Rosenfeld
