As a child of the ’60s, with roots in the antiwar movement, Wellstone, 46, is accustomed to being pilloried for his views. A former political-science professor at Carleton College, he is determined not to let the tyranny of the majority silence him now. “I won’t be credible to myself if I just go with the wind of the current climate,” he says. He makes no apology for opposing the gulf war and insists that he welcomes the GOP challenge to hold Democrats “accountable” for preferring sanctions to force. But he believes that the accounting should go beyond the quick military fix to assess the war’s longer-term impact. Still, if Wellstone’s early reviews are any indication, Desert Storm may claim its share of casualties at home.
