I happened to flip on "Hardball" last night and noticed Howard Dean was on (transcript). Chris Matthews seems to be even more obsessed with the origins of the war than he normally is. It was amazing to see him chastise Dean and Democrats for not being sufficiently anti-war at this point when war-bashing is all the rage. Matthews was right, though, in noticing that some Democrats (i.e. the smart ones such as both Clintons) aren't bashing their heads against the wall in anger over Iraq since doing so is unproductive and potentially politically dangerous if things do turn out OK there. As a former political adviser to Democratic politicians, you'd think Matthews would be aware that gnashing your teeth ain't good politics.
Three other things I noticed last night: 1) Guesting on the show in the first time in a while, Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley said something I'd been longing to hear someone on TV say: whether Iraq was right or wrong doesn't matter at this point, we need to figure out what to do from here. 2) Just days after her CNN show "Capitol Gang" got canned, Margaret Carlson the acerbic Time magazine columnist who is decidedly less vicious on television turned up on the panel along with Blankley. 3) The most unintentionally funny line of the night from Dean: "The problem with the kind of name-calling that you see in the right wing is it's polarizing.
Other reactions to what I think will be a much-discussed Dean appearance: Swanky Conservative, The Blue State, Political Discourse.
