Iraq is exploding in Bush's lap, but Kerry seems to be the one running scared. Although Kerry has made sporadic comments about Iraq throughout the week -- in a radio interview Wednesday, he called the war "one of the greatest failures of diplomacy and failures of judgment that I have seen in all the time that I've been in public life," and on Thursday he repeated his attack on Bush's unilateralist approach to the war -- he has not made the war a centerpiece of his campaign. As a young naval officer just back from Vietnam, John Kerry had the courage to help lead the nation out of one misguided military adventure; as a U.S. senator and presidential candidate, why is Kerry so cautious, so careful, so tentative now?Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Tim. Kerry's playing it perfectly.
There's nothing better than having your opponent shoot himself in the foot. In this case, Bush has been doing it repeatedly and apparently it's finally getting America's attention.
With all the talk of politicizing the 9/11 hearings and all the trash talk between the parties, Kerry is showing outstanding wisdom in staying out of this mud puddle. The entire White House is neck-deep in it right now, and for Kerry to jump in would be disasterous to his campaign.
He's finally got the real moral high ground and he didn't have to open his mouth to claim it. The best possible thing has happened - it's in the process of being thrust upon him.
No, Kerry does NOT need to say anything about all this. It's finally unraveling where it should be unraveling - in the press and in public opinion. Kerry addressing the economy has accomplished another thing: his owning of THAT issue. While the White House is completely derailed, spinning its ass off with the 9/11 commission, Kerry is building a solid foundation for the next seven months.
Kerry does not need to address this now. There's plenty of time and there's still plenty of testimony to come. He's playing it very smart - and that in itself puts him head and shoulders above the collective braintrust in the White House now.
