Speaking truth to power...

...is a phrase I first learned from Daniel Ellsberg, more years ago than I care to admit. My first copy of the Pentagon Papers was purchased at a Stars & Stripes bookstore at Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base in Vietnam, and he's been one of my teachers ever since.

There's a fresh Ellsberg interview up at Salon, worth waiting through the ad for (or better yet, worth buying a subscription for), which includes the following...(my emphasis)

"The question after any scarring episode in history like Vietnam is, "What did you do in the war, daddy?" That must be applied here. If you did not come to believe that the war was false, a moral catastrophe, then it was not a credit to your wisdom or character or maturity. But if you did realize it, like most Americans, the next test is, "Then what did you do upon realizing that?"

And I will say that certainly the most creditable role for a citizen at that point is to do everything possible to stop it. And the highest standard was set by the people who went to prison for nonviolent draft resistance. And the other highest standard was set by the vets, who came home and put themselves on the line by speaking out and marching against the war. Vets like John Kerry set a standard for the whole country.

I think this is Kerry's strongest qualification to be a leader of this country.