This is the best assessment I’ve read so far. Money quote:
The responsibility of sending troops into danger should weigh on a commander in chief. But so must the responsibility of protecting the nation against a shadowy foe not easily deterred by traditional means. Mr. Kerry last night elided the charged question of whether, as president, he would have gone to war in Iraq. He offered not a word to celebrate the freeing of Afghans from the Taliban, or Iraqis from Saddam Hussein, and not a word about helping either nation toward democracy.
Noam Scheiber also homes in on the Cold War liberal rhetoric: tough abroad, liberal at home.
The Dish 