I’ve received many emails on the following lines:
To believe that the Dems have suddenly adopted a strong defense and foreign policy posture is beyond absurd. Nothing could matter less than what Kerry has to say tonight in his infomercial, er, speech regarding the War on Terror. His own history, recent and ancient, belies his own sudden conversion, and his own party would become ungovernable should he have to actually lead us in War. This is still the party of McGovern, Carter, and Dean…the adults, Lieberman and Gephardt (who might have warranted presidential consideration), were emphatically rejected in the primaries. A presidential win by Kerry will simply mark our own surrender, and no amount of phony posturing will change that.
It’s a legitimate position, but it essentially means that, whatever the Democrats say, they can never get the benefit of the doubt in this war. I think that’s blinkered. 9/11 changed a lot. It didn’t change the far left, who saw it as another reason to hate America. But it changed America, and the Democrats seem to me to be absorbing this fact. If you believe in this war as strongly as I do, then it seems to me it has to be a bipartisan affair at some point, just as the Cold War was for many years. Why should we simply dismiss out of hand a candidate’s declaration that he will fight it just as forcefully as Bush? why aren’t we open to a real debate about tactics and strategy? Isn’t that the strength of a democracy, rather than a dictatorship? Why this sneering at what appears to be an accommodation by the Democratic party to the perilous reality we live in? Why not a celebration? This is a defeat of the left, after all. Edwards said: “We are at war.” You cannot be clearer than that. I appreciate skepticism applied to this, given Kerry’s record. But he’s also a patriot and I hope he sees the dangers we face. And this war is not – and never should be – a device to win permanent Republican dominance in American politics. It’s a war to defend the American constitution and Western freedom. I’m happy to welcome anyone to that cause. Why aren’t so many Republicans?
The Dish 