Iraq Moratorium goes mainstream; well, kind of

Who’s the guy with the big Iraq Moratorium button?

Could it be a presidential candidate?

Indeed, Sen. Mike Gravel joined tens of thousands of others who observed Iraq Moratorium #3 on Nov. 16.

The Alaska Democrat, former Senator and presidential hopeful wore a big, black Iraq Moratorium button all day, the Moratorium website says. It’s in the Moratorium Day #3 reports.

That makes him the first presidential candidate to actually get on board the peace train, although a would-be First Lady beat him to it by two months.  

The Iraq Moratorium asks people, on the third Friday of every month, to take some action to show that they want the war to end and the troops to come home.  Wearing a button or an armband meets that threshold.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Gravel would be the first on board.  His position on Iraq, from his website:

 

Senator Gravel’s position on Iraq remains clear and consistent: to commence an immediate and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. troops that will have them home within 120 days. The sooner U.S. troops are withdrawn, the sooner we can pursue aggressive diplomacy to bring an end to the civil war that currently consumes Iraq. Senator Gravel seeks to work with neighboring countries to lead a collective effort to bring peace to Iraq.

Although Gravel is the first candidate to actually take part in an Iraq Moratorium, Dennis Kucinich’s wife, Elizabeth, joined an Iraq Moratorium vigil in Los Angeles in September.  She’s in the center, behind the banner.

Who’s next?  Dennis Kucinich himself?  Bill Richardson?  Ron Paul?

If this continues, the news media may even have to mention the Iraq Moratorium some day.   Naaah.