Gary Hart has an op-ed in today's Washington Post about the war in Iraq. It's wrong. It was a mistake. We are "light-years" from the original purported mission. It's a "hornet's nest." He asks, who will say "no more?"

The op-ed also takes a swipe at the complicit Democrats. This is not the way to resurrect the party, Hart argues.

But what will history say about an opposition party that stands silent while all this goes on? My generation of Democrats jumped on the hot stove of Vietnam and now, with its members in positions of responsibility, it is afraid of jumping on any political stove. In their leaders, the American people look for strength, determination and self-confidence, but they also look for courage, wisdom, judgment and, in times of moral crisis, the willingness to say: "I was wrong."

To stay silent during such a crisis, and particularly to harbor the thought that the administration's misfortune is the Democrats' fortune, is cowardly. In 2008 I want a leader who is willing now to say: "I made a mistake, and for my mistake I am going to Iraq and accompanying the next planeload of flag-draped coffins back to Dover Air Force Base. And I am going to ask forgiveness for my mistake from every parent who will talk to me."

It's a very good read.

Update: Kevin Drum offers similar thoughts about who will be first among the Democrats in this op-ed in today's LA Times.