George Clooney, Liberal

It's sad when valuable political advice has to come from outside the caste of politicians. Bloggers have been harping on this theme endlessly, but we need Hollywood actors like George Clooney to amplify what must be said. It reminds me of Vietnam, when students and preachers and, yes, actors were forced into the role of truthtellers:

Clooney exhorts the lily-livered Dems to stop being cowards and put some steel in their spines.

"It's not merely our right to question our government, it's our duty. Whatever the consequences," he lectures.

"We can't demand freedom of speech, then turn around and say, 'But please don't say bad things about us.' You gotta be a grownup and take your hits."

The actor vents frustration that "liberal" has become a dirty word. "Too many people run away from the label. They whisper it like you'd whisper, 'I'm a Nazi.'"

But as for Clooney, "I am a liberal. Fire away," he taunts.

For the record, my view is that an invasion of Iraq might have been appropriate only if WMD were there: otherwise, the opening of that diabolical Pandora's Box called Iraq would not have been worthwhile. By not demanding more WMD information at the time from the criminal Bush Administration, Democrats failed liberals - failed everyone. By May, 2003, it was clear there wasn't any WMD at all.

Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden who still refuse to denounce the Iraq invasion at this late date must be ostracized. Their fears will lead only to their own irrelevance. John Edwards ultimately turned his back on the Iraq invasion. Even gelatinous John Kerry finally came out against it (a year too late to have any effect on his campaign). Clooney is right:

"Which is why it drives me crazy to hear all these Democrats saying, 'We were misled.' It makes me want to shout, 'F— you, you weren't misled. You were afraid of being called unpatriotic.'"