From DailyKos:

Speaking at the National Press Club Tuesday evening, CBS “Evening News” anchor Katie Couric pulled back the curtain on her personal views of both the war in Iraq and former “Evening News” anchor Dan Rather.

“Everyone in this room would agree that people in this country were misled in terms of the rationale of this war,” said Couric, adding that it is “pretty much accepted” that the war in Iraq was a mistake.

“I’ve never understood why [invading Iraq] was so high on the administration’s agenda when terrorism was going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan and that [Iraq] had no true connection with al Qaeda.”

Further, Couric said the Bush administration botched the war effort, calling it “accepted truths” that it erred by“disbanding the Iraq military, and leaving 100,000 Sunni men feeling marginalized and angry…[and] whether there were enough boots on the ground, the feeling that we’d be welcomed as liberators and didn’t need to focus as much on security.” She added “I’d feel totally comfortable saying any of that at some point, if required, on television.”

“Katie, the country has been lied to! We’re about to go to war based on false information! What’s more, we don’t really have any plans or goals once we get there!”

“I know! It sucks!”

“You are the host of the highest-rated morning show in the country! Millions of Americans turn to you as their only source of information! You must use your power of influence to guide your fellow countrymen away from this devastating mistake!”

“Is that a requirement, or just a request?”

To be fair to Couric, I am now and always have been astonished that anyone placed confidence in George Bush or his posse, and I suspect that if you were misguided enough to believe that going to war in Iraq was a good idea than fact-based reasoning may not be your forte. Still, she could have tried. She had a pretty big soapbox. And to say that she would make her views known if “required” to is akin to a fireman refusing to save a baby from a burning building because it wasn’t specifically mentioned in his contract.