Tireless Dennis Kucinich Campaigning

Dennis Kucinich is on a mission to save the United States from stumbling into a world war. The liberal, unabashedly anti-war Democrat has been pursuing his campaign with considerable energy. Here's the story from Pam Wright of the Whittier Daily News:

A packed and cheering crowd greeted U.S. Rep. and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, Sunday at St. Matthias Episcopal Church as he campaigned on a plan to end the war on Iraq.

Kucinich spent the weekend jetting from a large anti-war protest in Washington, D.C., Saturday to events in San Francisco and Los Angeles before addressing the crowd of supporters and peace activists Sunday afternoon in Whittier.

Saying the war on Iraq was the most important issue for the 2008 presidential campaign, Kucinich laid out his strategy for troop withdrawal in a 12-point plan that would begin with a U.S. commitment to end the occupation and bring troops home within a three-month period.

Critics have said immediate withdrawal would lead to civil war and that the U.S. needs to be present through the transition to Iraqi control.

But Kucinich said the U.S. presence is fueling insurgent activity and anti-American sentiments in the region.

I don't know what chances Kucinich has of winning in 2008 but he has an important message, one that other Democratic presidential hopeful need to address more closely. Our country cannot move forward until we get Bush's failed war in Iraq off our backs.

No one should doubt the sincerity of the Congressman from Ohio. The Cleveland Dealer takes him seriously and published this statement from Kucinich on the possibility of impeachment if Bush launces his third war, this one with Iran:

Congressman Dennis Kucinich warns the White House of Impeachment in his latest press release. Here the press release in full:

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) accused the White House of mounting a media blitz to prepare the U.S. public for an eventual attack on Iran. Today The Washington Post reported the Bush administration has authorized the U.S. military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq as part of an aggressive new strategy to weaken Tehran’s influence across the Middle East.

“The White House is up to its old tricks again: Providing information by anonymous sources and portraying Iran as an aggressor in Iraq,” Kucinich said.

“The President is mischaracterizing U.S. action vis à vis Iran. In fact, the U.S. is already engaged in offensive and provocative acts against Iran. The President’s strategy, by portraying our involvement as only being on the defensive, is laying out the groundwork for him to attack Iran and bypass authorization by Congress,” Kucinich said.

The Democrats may not have the votes for impeachment if Bush decides to go to war in Iran without Congressional authorization, but the Republicans better think long and hard about supporting an arrogant president with such a dismal record of failure after six years. If nothing else, an energetic Kucinich is making his case in stop after stop around the nation. Even if he doesn't win the Democratic nomination, he may be shaping the 2008 race. I believe we had to go to Afghanistan (and it should have been done by now) but our war in Iraq has never made sense. Clearly this is the year Americans need to start asking how it is that our political leaders manage to blunder into such pointless wars.