Hypocrisy and dissent. Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne weighs in this morning on the importance of dissent in time of war. He also takes note of the hypocrisy of Republicans who all but accused Senate minority leader Tom Daschle of treason this week, yet who savagely went after Bill Clinton when he commenced military action in Kosovo and Serbia in 1999.

Dionne writes:

[T]he more a president's supporters use the term "commander in chief" to enhance his authority, the more important it is to remember his role as the political leader of a free republic who is not endowed with infallibility, unlimited power or immunity from criticism. That, after all, is the essential difference between our country and Iraq.