Republicans Not Learning From 06's Lesson on Iraq

The Republican candidates' debate in New Hampshire on Tuesday evening was curious in that a lot of the heat was directed at who wasn't there -- the Democrats.

Two of the candidates -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- took shots at the Democrats in their answers.

Romney said Sen. Harry Reid (D., Nev.) "got it wrong when he said we lost the war."

Giuliani said the "Democrats were in denial" about the terrorist threat.

I find it interesting that all of the Republicans continue to support a policy that lost them the election in 2006. Will they make the same mistake in 2008?

It was the second debate for the GOP, and one thing is certain: It isn't the monolithic institution it has been since the early '90s. Fireworks broke out in the debate on immigration.

The questioning in the debate -- which took place at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., began with the Iraq war.

Moderator Wolf Blitzer of CNN asked if the invasion was a mistake. All of the candidates danced around the question. Only Rep. Ron Paul of Texas called the war a mistake.

Romney followed the lead of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D., N.Y.) in the Democrats' recent debate by refusing to answer hypothetical questions.

I say give their consultants a raise. Answering hypothetical questions gives politicians a chance to derail their candidacy with a single sound bite.