They speak their mind

On NBC’s Meet the Press aired Oct. 1, two candidates for a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio were asked to comment about recent polls on Iraqi attitudes toward the war. Surveys by independent researchers had reported that most Iraqis “favor an immediate U.S. pullout” and that “about six in 10 Iraqis say they approve of attacks on U.S.-led forces.”

Host Tim Russert asked Republican Sen. Mike DeWine, “If they want us out, and they’re in favor of attacking us, why are we still there?”

“I was shocked by that as well,” replied DeWine. “Still it does not change that we’re not in Iraq primarily for the Iraqis. We’re in Iraq for us. ... It would be a total disaster for us to leave. It is in our self-interest that we are in Iraq. That’s why we’re there.”

Whatever happened to “democracy” and “freedom”?

DeWine’s Democratic opponent, Sherrod Brown, said nothing to challenge the senator, who is considered a “moderate” among Republicans.

Of course, DeWine was speaking class truth—his class, that is. The “us” he refers to is not the Ohio voters who put him in office but the corporate, military-industrial and energy profiteers who want control of Iraq’s oil wealth and who pay DeWine’s tabs and pull DeWine’s strings.

How refreshing to hear the truth on national television!