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thedrifter
07-28-05, 07:11 AM
Democratic candidates tout Iraq war experience
By Bill Nichols, USA TODAY

Paul Hackett likes to say he's "not your standard Democrat."

But if Democrats could design a dream candidate to capitalize on national distress about the war in Iraq, he would look a lot like the tall, telegenic Marine Reserve major who finished a seven-month tour of Iraq in March.

Should Hackett, the Democratic nominee in a special election Aug. 2 in Ohio's 2nd District, win, he would be the first Iraq combat veteran elected to Congress. At least two other Iraq combat veterans - both Democrats - plan to run for House seats next year. All three are touting their Iraq experience and knocking the White House and Congress for not having a realistic sense of the war on the ground.

Iraq veterans, though not single-issue candidates, have instant credibility on one of the nation's most pressing issues, says David Ashe, a Democrat and Marine who served seven months in Iraq in 2003. He plans a run for a House seat in Virginia in 2006 after losing a similar bid last year. Other candidates may say they care about the war, Ashe says, but Iraq vets know about it.

"It's like a layman and an auto mechanic saying that they care about a car. One may care, but the other one knows how a wrench works and how to use it," Ashe says.

No Iraq combat veterans have succeeded in politics. Ashe and two others - Democrat Steve Brozak in New Jersey and Republican Gerald Boyle Jr. in Wisconsin - lost House bids in 2004. Iraq veterans also face the fact that President Bush defeated a decorated Vietnam War veteran who was critical of the administration's record in Iraq last year - Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

Max Cleland, a former Democratic senator from Georgia who lost both legs and part of an arm in Vietnam, says Hackett and other Democratic vets could fare better now because of polls showing rising concern about the Iraq war.

A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken last weekend showed 53% saying they don't believe the United States will win the war in Iraq.

"I think the country is maturing when it comes to Iraq, and the Iraqi veterans are also maturing," says Cleland, who campaigned with Hackett last week. "These guys are the best and brightest of their generation."

Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Operation Truth, a non-partisan advocacy group for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, says he expects "droves" of Iraq veterans to run in coming years from both parties. "The Republicans got us into the war, and the Democrats appear to have no plan to get us out," he says. "I think guys will go both ways."

Hackett, 43, a lawyer and former Milford city councilman, faces long odds. He's running in a largely rural and conservative district that hasn't elected a Democrat in nearly 40 years and where voter backlash over his harsh criticism of Bush is possible.

Bush won 74% of the vote in the district last November. The special election is being held because GOP congressman Rob Portman resigned this year to become U.S. trade representative.

"It's a real steep uphill climb for him (Hackett)," says John Green, a political analyst at the University of Akron. "It is such a Republican district."

Republican nominee Jean Schmidt, a former state representative, has criticized Hackett for saying several weeks ago that Bush was a greater threat to U.S. security than al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. "The people of this district couldn't disagree more," says Schmidt, 53.

Hackett is unapologetic. "I've said that I don't like the son-of-a-b-- that lives in the White House but I'd put my life on the line for him," he says.

He re-enlisted in the Marines last year and led a civil affairs unit in Iraq that saw duty in the insurgent hotbed of Fallujah.

Hackett had even more pointed criticism of Bush for saying of Iraqi insurgents attacking U.S. troops in July 2003: "Bring them on."

"That's the most incredibly stupid comment I've ever heard a president of the United States make," Hackett says. "He cheered on the enemy."

Schmidt, president of Greater Cincinnati Right To Life, says Hackett's politics won't play well in a district so rural that she ended one recent campaign day by pitching in with friends to buy a 236-pound hog at the Warren County Fair in Lebanon.

"I have a better understanding ... of the people and the issues of this district," says Schmidt, who grew up on a farm in Clermont County as the daughter of Gus Hoffmann, a car racing team owner. "I know the consternation that people have when someone urban wants to represent you."

Schmidt, who would be the first woman to represent the district, also points out that she has already defeated one Iraq veteran in the Republican primary: retired naval officer Eric Minamyer.

Other Iraq vets will be watching the race closely for clues about how their candidacies will fare.

Patrick Murphy, a former Army captain who earned a Bronze Star in Iraq, plans to run for the Democratic nod to face GOP freshman Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania's 8th District - Bucks County and a sliver of Philadelphia suburbs. Murphy says he, like Hackett, faces the challenge of being reduced to a one-issue candidate. "If you look back in history and see people committed to public service, there's no greater public service than serving in time of war," Murphy says.

He says he and Hackett can offer a reality check in Congress and a much-needed, honest appraisal of conditions on the ground.

"All Americans want our troops in Iraq to successfully complete the mission," he says. "However, our sons and daughters in Iraq need leaders who are willing to honestly discuss our future course."

Ashe plans a second run in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District, a district encompassing Virginia Beach and part of Norfolk with a strong military presence. Ashe, a retired Marine major, was defeated last year by Republican Thelma Drake.

Ellie