In a televised debate with her campaign opponents in the Texas Senate race, Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky, and Libertarian Scott Lanier Jameson, Hutchinson admitted the cause for War Upon Iraq was based on false pretexts, and if she had known the facts then, she would not have voted to autorize the use of force in Iraq. She also defended GW Bush's decision to Wage War Upon Iraq, based upon false causes, by claiming he was as clueless as she was.

Responding to a reporter's question, Hutchison said: "If I had known then what I know now about the weapons of mass destruction, which was a key reason I voted to go in there, I would not vote to go into Iraq the way we did.

"And I have to say I don't think the president would have asked for that vote either," Hutchison said, saying President Bush was "trying to make sure that America was not hit with another 9/11, with a weapon of mass destruction."

W. Gardner Selby, "Hutchison says she wouldn't have supported Iraq invasion if she'd known there were no WMDs", Austin American Statesman, October 20, 2006

Hutchinson then fell back to the standard GOP talking point: 'We Can't Cut and Run' ® ('We Can't Cut and Run' is registerd hallmark the RNC).

"I can't think of anything worse than America cutting and running because times are tough. ... We must never cut and run. That would shred the credibility of America," she (Hutchinson) said. "We must be a formidable enemy. We must be a reliable ally."

By Tracy Idell Hamilton-San Antonio Express-News, "Hutchison, Radnofsky spar over Iraq strategy", Houston Chronicle, October 20, 2006.

Immoral War, and criminally negligent leadership isn't already shredding our credibility?

Hutchinson wasn't queried about her cut'n'run stunt earlier in the week though. It was reported that she opposed a public audience for the deabate:

The debate format differs from an original plan that called for a live audience. The first "contract I signed was very clear that there would be an audience and we would have tickets for the audience," Radnofsky said.

Hutchison hadn't agreed to the debate then.

Charles Vaughn, spokesman for KRLN-TV, said Hutchison's campaign raised concerns about a studio audience, and the plan was changed to eliminate possible distractions in the studio.

Suzanne Gamboa Associated Press, "Senate debate audience dropped amid opposition", Contra Costa Times, October 17, 2006

Just by running for re-election, Hutchinson has shown herself to be a member of the promise breakers club:

Early in her political career, Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison repeatedly pledged she'd serve just two full terms. But winning re-election next month would equal three terms. So what gives?

"It's a fair question," Ms. Hutchison said Thursday in the Senate debate in San Antonio.

"I do favor term limits. I favor them right now," she said. "What I found out after I got there is that if you have term limits for one state but not the others, it disadvantages your state. So I have decided to run for a third time because I want to do what I think is best for Texas."

Todd J. Gillman, "At Senate debate, war dominates", The Dallas Morning News, October 19, 2006

Yeah, the public clamoring for truth can be extremely distracting. Looking for the causes of the rampant intelligence failures in DC? Try looking at the Senate Republican Conference.

In related Intelligence Failure News, during a $75 a plate fundraiser for Hutchinson, Barbara Bush, using rhetorical understatement, said it had been a tough year for the GOP. She didn't deeply delve into the cause for this though.

The former first lady called it a "terrible year" for Republicans. Said the senator: "This is a tough time for us, make no mistake about it."

Mrs. Bush headlined a $75-per-plate fundraising luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion, and the assessments of the bleak landscape facing the GOP came as a dash of cold reality for the hundreds of activists, mostly women, gathered to support the senator's re-election.

Todd J. Gillman, "Barbara Bush: 'terrible year' for GOP", Dallas Morning News, October 18, 2006

I wonder if the Cold Turkey platter was being served at the luncheon.