Blackfive: Polis Trip to Iraq “Showboating”

Two weeks ago I wrote about Congressional candidate Jared Polis’ impending visit to Iraq:

Look, Polis’ trip to Iraq may turn out to be all for show. But then again he may be genuine, in which case I hope he takes time to meet with some of our enlisted troops, our young officers, as well as local Iraqi leaders and tribal chiefs.

Was the trip all for show? Blackfive has the answer:

So, here’s Mr. Richie Rich, scratching for Congress, looking for an ‘in’, and decides to fund a trip to Iraq; see the natives, bash the Bush, just to say ‘been there, seen that’. Unfortunately, about all HE saw was the inside of a hotel and the view from a car window. So, he’s ready to be ambassador, now?

So why do I care about this? Because I despise people showboating about the situation over there; needlessly putting themselves at risk, and saying their experts because they’ve seen 1/1,000th of what actually goes on over there. Its like going to the zoo for the afternoon and then claiming you’re an expert zoologist because you spent time in the chimp exhibit.

Two weeks ago I also wrote:

This could turn out to be an interesting race in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District. But only if one or more of the candidates is willing to make a grown-up assessment of our Middle East foreign policy by going to really look for himself.

I may have been right, but looks like we’ll never know. Hoping for Democrat Congressional candidates – especially those wooing the votes of Boulderites – to have serious, grown-up, well-informed views of Iraq. Nothing more than misguided optimism, I guess.