Delegates On Iraq

As Dave mentioned earlier, we've spoken to many delegates about Iraq and how they feel about the fact that while most delegates were and are against the Iraq War, the speakers in general have not reflected that. As Amy Goodman pointed out to us, none of those that did speak out against the war Wednesday night was in prime time. Now the delegates, of course, have no sense of what's in prime time and what's not since they're inside, but what's been interesting is the consistency of the responses we've gotten from them. At least 5 delegates, when asked about John Kerry's vote on the war and whether he should come out more forcefully against it, especially since that's the point of view of most of those nominating him, have responded with variations on the following: "while I don't agree with the decision to go to war, I believe that Kerry made the best decision he could with the information provided him." When Dave delved deeper, asking whether Kerry should come out and admit it was a mistake, they stood strong in defense of John Kerry. And when asked if they were given talking points on how to respond to questions such as these, they responded with an adamant "no, I read, I don't need anyone to give us answers." Now, I certainly don't think this opinion is invalid, nor do I think it is weak (although Dave might disagree). It is after all, John Kerry's very argument. But that's the point -- the consistency of the words they used was creepy, seemingly just parroting the party line. What up with the robo-delegates? So I asked Sharon from North Dakota to speak off the record and she still insisted that they were not coached in how to respond to these questions. She did say they're given talking points each day, but the first time she read them was Thursday. And she said they are more informational than thematic, so they'd have information at their disposal. I'll try to get a copy. I believe Sharon, but we both remain suspicious.