McCain, Brownback (also Clinton and Edwards): voted without even reading intelligence estimates.

In tonight's GOP debate, John McCain and Sam Brownback both said that they never read the National Intelligence Estimate in advance.

They defended their lack of preparation for perhaps the most important vote they'd ever cast in the Senate by saying that they listened to briefings. Yeah. Presumably briefings by the Bush administration, which was trying to sell the war. Can you say, 'rubber stamp?'

I've been critical of Democrats who voted for the AUMF in 2002 (particularly Senators and current Presidential candidates Clinton, Edwards, Biden and Dodd) but to have not even read the report is a cause for even a higher level of criticism than that. In particular, how can John McCain continue to justify his unflagging support for this war when he never even took the time to read through what its foundations were?

ADDITION: The ever sharp-eyed Indy Voter pointed out that the two leading Democrats who were in the Senate in 2002 also voted for the war without reading the resolution.

My comment on that was:

I'm beginning to think there are only two kinds of people in the United States Senate. One group is the cowards, and the other group are those who have never considered running for President. And I'm not sure which one is in the majority.