Saddam’s Iraq was strong in the region and exerted outsized influence globally. He provided a check on Iran’s power. With the post-invasion Iraq a borderline failed state, Iran has been free to flex its muscles virtually unchecked by regional opponents.

Republicans have a hard time admitting this. To suggest that the Iraq war was a mistake is to suggest that the last Republican president made an epic error, and that the defining decision of his presidency was wrong. That wrongness is not just some academic question — it cost this nation, Iraq, and many allies untold amounts of life and money. It also makes it hard for the GOP to ding Obama for going soft on Iran if George W. Bush is on the hook for inadvertently strengthening Iran in the first place.

It all adds up to one big problem: Owning the failure of the Iraq war robs the GOP of one of its core strengths, its self-claimed image as the “daddy party” that is best positioned to protect this nation.

What Paul said about Iraq takes guts.