The media likes having Soltz on opposite the Move America Forward people, partly because it guarantees a screaming match over who supports the troops more and partly because MAF’s officers aren’t Iraq vets themselves so Soltz gets to play authoritative Iraq expert. (To Matthews’s credit, they had on Eric Egland from Vets for Freedom to oppose him last week, albeit on the subject of Pat Tillman.) Matthews got what he was looking for here, a de facto political ad for Hillary from Soltz so fulsome it would make Kirsten Powers blush followed by Patterson predictably calling her a socialist and “anti-American” followed inevitably by the war veteran/moral authority test of strength.

I’m not sure what Patterson’s getting at when he says he’s glad Soltz isn’t serving in Iraq right now, but in Soltz’s defense, it’s way out of line.

Incidentally, did you know both of these guys are vets? The lack of uniforms probably fooled you, huh?