Smith gets some moderate exposure

As I noted the other day Senator Gordon Smith, [I'm not a moderate but I play one on TV] started running for reelection by running from George Bush and his own support for the invasion of Iraq. Well he got a lot of "maverick" play again today when he appeared on ABC's This Week. You can watch it or read the transcript at Think Progress.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Smith, let me begin with you. That was clearly a deeply personal speech, and it showed a dramatic change of heart. What triggered it?

SMITH: Waking up the other morning and turning on the news, and hearing that yet another ten of our soldiers died the same way that several thousand have —

STEPHANOPOULOS: Wednesday.

SMITH: Wednesday, to roadside bombs. I went from steamed to boiled, and I felt I had to speak out because if we’re going to be there, let’s win. If we’re not, let’s at least fight the war on terror in a way that makes sense.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You said in that speech that current policy may be criminal.

SMITH: I said it. You can use any adjective you want, George. But I have long believed in a military context, when you do the same thing over and over again, without a clear strategy for victory, at the expense of your young people in arms, that is dereliction. That is deeply immoral.

Marty Lederman wonders how many more Gordon Smiths it will take to change the dynamics in the congress when it comes to the war.

Matthew Yglesias asks if Smith's flip flopping at this point will be enough to prevent his defeat in 2008. I certainly hope not. While smith may have gotten a sudden shot of reality when it concerns Iraq he remains a wingnut not a moderate.