After this story and this sidebar were published last Monday, some readers asked why I didn't ask the Republican congressional candidates about their views on the Iraq War. I did; I just didn't have room in the newspaper to include their answers. Here they are:

* Dean Scontras said that he believes President Bush initially had a bad strategy for Iraq. But he praised the current strategy, which he credited to Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker.
“I don’t know how you could be thinking about withdrawal at this time,” Scontras said. “So I think staying there for a long time, yeah, it’s in our best interests.”

* Charlie Summers is not commenting about the war while he’s deployed in Iraq, said his wife Ruth Summers, who is acting as a campaign spokeswoman while her husband is on active duty, and barred from campaigning.
She added that when he does return home, he will have an interesting perspective on the war.
“I think that’s one of the unique things that Charlie’s able to bring to his campaign when he returns,” Ruth Summers said.

– Kevin Wack

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