Could Hillary's Iraq War Vote Cost Her The Nomination Again?

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Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer went to Iowa Wednesday night. And, as he has a knack for doing, he made news.

"I didn’t vote for that war, and I didn’t think it was a good idea," Schweitzer said of Iraq. "George Bush got a bunch of Democrats to go to that war, I was just shaking my head in Montana."

There's, of course, only one Democrat who voted for "that war" who is thinking about running for president in 2016: Hillary Clinton. Schweitzer and everyone else in the audience -- and the broader political world -- knew who he meant. In case you missed that, he added this gem: "Gosh, we had Bush, Bush, Bush and Clinton, Clinton and now we’re talking about a Bush or a Clinton again and I think in America we’re always looking for leadership that takes us to the future and we’re not often looking in the rear view mirror for our leadership."

There's a very clear reason that Schweitzer targeted Clinton. He knows that no matter how big a frontrunner Clinton is in the 2016 race, there will always be a desire on the liberal left to get behind a candidate who isn't part of the D.C. political establishment. If that candidate isn't Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren -- and she has given every indication it won't be -- then, Schweitzer figures, why shouldn't it be him? ("Why not me" is a surprisingly common reason for running for offices.)

After all, he gave a very well-received speech -- sporting a bolo tie! -- at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, left office after two terms as governor of Montana with sky-high approval ratings and has become a favorite son among the liberal left. He's also remarkably charismatic -- we first came across Schweitzer when he ran against then Sen. Conrad Burns in 2000 -- with a sort of everyman appeal that Gov. Chris Christie has turned into political gold in New Jersey.

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