The Washington Post is apparently just now getting around to figuring out that Hillary Clinton has crafted a "vague stance" on the war in Iraq as she "eyes" the 2008 presidential election.

Imagine that: One of the leading lights of the mainstream media (MSM) characterizing as "vague" the policy position of the presidential candidate it will likely endorse in 2008, on the most central political issue of the day.

What they won't share is that Hillary's inscrutable policies on Iraq weren't brought about by any principled, much less sophisticated, foreign policy analysis, but raw political calculations and opportunism.

A glaring truism about the Clintons -- Bill and Hillary -- is that they are first and foremost about acquiring and retaining power. All other considerations are subordinated. They are political liberals, not moderates, as conventional wisdom has graced them, who only adopt centrist positions when necessary to preserve their electability and popularity.

This was clearly true of Bill Clinton, who loved nothing more than demagoguing against the "rich" as he increased taxes on upper middle-income producers and used the military as an international Meals-on-Wheels.

He and Hillary earnestly sought to nationalize health care, and he only signed on to welfare reform after thrice kicking and screaming. And but for the forced austerity imposed by Gingrich Republicans he would never have swerved into balancing budgets he didn't even aspire to balance when he took office. Yet the fawningly delusional MSM has perpetuated the myth that he was a fiscal conservative.

Now, we're already seeing the same thing play out with Hillary Clinton as the aroma of 2008 wafts toward her nostrils. Whatever principles she has she will temporarily abandon or relegate to the backburner if necessary to further her presidential ambitions.

This has manifested itself most clearly in her nearly indecipherable position on the war in Iraq. I say "nearly indecipherable" because to call it totally indecipherable would be a slight to John Kerry, who holds the award for the most unintelligible stance on the war.

Smart Democrats know that no antiwar candidate is going to get closer to the White House than the Democratic presidential nomination. That's why during the 2004 campaign we had to endure the excruciating spectacle of the antiwar, military-slandering John Kerry schizophrenically vacillating between a love affair with the Michael Moore base and "Reporting for Duty."

Hillary is one of those smart Democrats. So she has been posturing as a hawk for well over a year now and trying to distance herself -- at least for public appearances -- from the kook base of her party. Continued...