Sending Edwards to Iraq?

Robert Novak reports an interesting development:

Tentative plans are being discussed inside the Kerry-Edwards campaign to send vice-presidential candidate John Edwards to Iraq as soon as possible.

Well, Kerry’s been saying we need more troops in Iraq for months. . . .

Edwards has not gone to Iraq since the U.S. invasion last year. His visit there would be designed to try to fill the senator’s lack of experience in national security policy. It also would provide the campaign with photo opportunities showing Edwards in close contact with U.S. troops in Iraq. Before he announced his presidential candidacy last year, Edwards declared aggressive action against Iraq was needed because weapons of mass destruction were there. Like John Kerry, Edwards voted for the war resolution but against the $87 billion bill funding the conflict.

Oh. It is rare for someone to come to the White House with subtantial foreign policy experience. Most recent presidents, after all, have come from the ranks of state governors. But the idea that sending your vice presidential nominee on an overseas photo-op is going to fill any credibility gaps is laughable.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.