After making a name for himself by speaking out against the invasion of Iraq, the former DNC chair is praising Obama's mission in Libya -- an unconstitutional mission that transgresses against values he once touted

Although he spent 12 years as governor of Vermont, Howard Dean gained national attention during George W. Bush's first term as a leading voice in the anti-war movement. An early frontrunner in the campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination, he remarked frequently on foreign policy. "Empowered by the American people," he said in one major address, "I will work to restore the legitimacy that comes from the rule of law; the credibility that comes from telling the truth." He added that he'd put troops in harm's way "only when the stakes warrant, when we plan to cope with possible dangers, and when we level with the American people about the relevant facts."

Dean lost in the primaries, so we never got to see whether he'd really embrace the rule of law, truth-telling, and transparency about facts as president. But he is still speaking out about foreign wars. On Wednesday morning, for example, he went on MSNBC, where he praised President Obama for the war in Libya. "It's very smart. You don't put boots on the ground. You don't commit trillions of dollars to a war in Iraq," he said. "You do it with the other tools that we have that frankly work much better over the long term because you don't get a lot of public resistance -- drones, special operations forces, use of intelligence agencies. That's exactly what he did."