The Iraq Authorization Vote

Democratic candidates have spent a lot of time lately explaining or defending their 2002 vote on whether to authorize President Bush to wage war in Iraq.

Both Hillary Clinton and John Edwards initially voted to support Bush in his war efforts. Clinton explains that she would never have given authorization, knowing what she knows now.

In 2002, Senator Obama opposed authorizing the war in Iraq, maintaining that even in 2002, ample information was available to cast doubt on the Iraq policy.

As the U.S. escalates or "surges" in Iraq, how will these initial Iraq authorization votes effect the credibility of both Democratic and Republican candidates?