Just when you thought that Howard Dean might have figured out that his mouth is his own worst enemy, the diminutive governor lets it get away from him again:
Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean said Sunday that the standard of living for Iraqis is a “whole lot worse” since Saddam Hussein’s removal from power in last year’s American-led invasion.
“You can say that it’s great that Saddam is gone and I’m sure that a lot of Iraqis feel it is great that Saddam is gone,” said the former Vermont governor, an unflinching critic of the war against Iraq. “But a lot of them gave their lives. And their living standard is a whole lot worse now than it was before.”
The Iraqi quality of life was better under Saddam Hussein? Under a regime that may have killed over 300,000 people and stuck them into mass graves? A regime where torture was commonplace and ethnic minorities faced state-sponsored oppression and even genocide? This is irresponsible rhetoric from a man who wants to be President. Regardless of whether one approved of the method of Hussein’s removal, factually speaking, the Iraqi people are no longer being tortured, nor are they dying at the rate of 5,000 a month from economic sanctions that was an integral part of the “containment” strategy that proved so worthless. Iraq no longer gasses its Kurds, nor commits genocide on its Marsh Arabs. Power and water are more reliable and reach many more people in today’s Iraq than under Hussein.
How can Democrats trust a candidate so far out of touch with reality? I doubt New Hampshire voters will endorse such an irrational candidate. I may have to downgrade my prediction to accomodate the damage if this gets much play in the media.
UPDATE: Glenn at Instapundit has a quote from an Iraqi with whom Dean needs to have a long, long chat …
UPDATE II: Jon at QandO tells me that I need to have a beer and calm down. I’ll agree to the beer part, anyway.