John Kline and 'Empty Rhetoric'

[Disclaimer: This post was first published on Coleen Rowley's campaign weblog.]

This is really a story about Mark Kennedy, but for some reason, John Kline decided to jump into the fray as well.

Desperately behind in the polls, it appears that Mark Kennedy is hoping to complete a 'hail Mary' comeback by challenging DFL candidate Amy Klobuchar to a one-hour debate devoted exclusively to discussing the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

What makes Kennedy's challenge relevant to this campaign, however, is that John Kline is backing Kennedy up, saying "I, like Mark, am tired of people saying, 'Well, we don't like the war in Iraq, we'll just make it better.' That's empty rhetoric".

That's an interesting view coming from a man who himself ducked out on the opportunity to debate Coleen on Iraq and other issues at the League of Women Voters debate, as well as declining several other offers to debate. It's especially interesting considering that, far from offering "empty rhetoric" on Iraq, Coleen has proposed a plan very similar to that which is reportedly under consideration by Kline's mentor and hero, James Baker.

But what makes Kline's statement truly ironic is that his own plan for making Iraq "better" is to "move troops around".