Yesterday, the Tribune printed an article about New Mexico’s congressional delegation and the Iraq War. Heather Wilson was the only one of our five reps who refused to be interviewed by the paper about her position on Iraq.The Alibi has had trouble getting Wilson to comment on the war and other issues for years. Last election cycle, she visited our Downtown office to talk about her campaign. She was gracious and articulate, but the meeting was too brief to allow for much substantive interaction, and, despite repeated requests, that was the only time we’ve interacted with our congressional representative in the last five years or so.This is troubling.Strong candidates don’t fear the media. If Wilson felt comfortable with her positions, she’d be willing to answer her critics. She’s a smart woman, but her continuing aversion to open dialog could well be her downfall. Wilson should take a lesson or two from her mentor, Sen. Pete Domenici, who is at least capable of openly questioning the (lack of) progress we’re making in Iraq.I know she has a lot invested in this war. She’s been a vocal backer of the president’s misguided invasion from the beginning. At some point, though, she has to acknowledge that the current strategy isn’t working, and pushing forward in the face of almost certain failure is the ultimate disrespect of our troops.Who knows? If she admitted her mistake now, if she used her impressive intellect to help develop and promote a workable exit strategy, she might be able to keep her seat come November 2008. Right now, it’s not looking good.
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