MoveOn's Iraq townhall delivers [VIDEO]

Posted by Jan Frel at 8:25 PM on April 10, 2007.

I just finished listening to MoveOn's Iraq townhall with the Democratic candidates. Just like the health care debate held in Nevada organized by SEIU and Center for American Progress there are a lot of advantages in having the candidates discuss one issue in depth together, and also by using internet platforms to have regular people ask the questions.

Also by using progressive media pipelines to distribute the audio of the event as MoveOn did by partnering with Air America, the rest of the media is forced to access this event through either MoveOn's site or Air America in the way that Drudge sends a lot of his traffic to the right-wing media ecosystem [Videos of the entire event are available HERE; a sample can be viewed to the upper right]. There's the "feedback" element that MoveOn employed, asking the audience to vote on "Which Candidate is best able to lead the country out of the war in Iraq?" We'll get a near real-time evaluation of how the candidates performed.

Then there's the substance of the townhall itself, it was rather clear listening to one candidate speak after another who really wants out of Iraq and who doesn't -- and it wasn't in the details; this thing is about the language candidates use demonstrating their political will regarding Iraq. There needs to be extra clarity about how strong the candidate wants out of this.

Take Joe Biden, who said: "In my view, any responsibly candidate needs only... needs not only a plan for getting our troops out of Iraq, he or she needs a plan for what we’re gonna leave behind. So, America’s interest, to protect it, we don’t trade a dictator for chaos in a regional war. I’m concerned about my son, a national guard, going to Iraq. He has not been there yet. But I’m also concerned about 15 years later having to send my grandson or granddaughter, and I’m the only the candidate with a plan."

Of course Biden wants out, right? But no. He's talking about leaving a dictator or chaos if the troops get out -- and to "protect" Iraq from such a scenario. Hillary Clinton was no more serious. She talked about taking a look at the security situation in 2009 to see whether troops were still needed. I could go on, but the point is illustrated. The value here of getting these candidates to all speak in some depth on the same issue is that it's easy to see where the differences are, and who is offering the most substantial plan. Biden, Dodd, Obama, Clinton, Richardson -- they all have different plans, and said different things. But listening to one after the other I can tell you they aren't terribly serious about them. Edwards was slightly more believable, but tethered his discussion to the the current congressional debate. And Kucinich's language was miles more serious and unequivocal about leaving.

Tagged as: election08, iraq, moveon

Jan Frel is AlterNet's senior editor