John Kerrys problem

Juan Cole har en bra blog om Kerrys problem visavi Bush.

Kerry and Bush on Iraq War

Bush asked Kerry if he would still have voted for the Iraq War if he had known in fall of 2002 everything he knows now about the non-existence of weapons of mass destruction.

Kerry said "yes," but that he would have handled things differently from Bush, giving the weapons inspectors more time to do their jobs and involving the international community, so that the US did not have to go it alone.

Carl Hulse of the New York Times writes that Bush then immediately gloated on the campaign trail in Pensacola,


"After months of questioning my motives and even my credibility, Senator Kerry now agrees with me that, even though we have not found the stockpile of weapons we all believe were there, knowing all believe were there, knowing everything we know today, he would have voted to go into Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power . . . I want to thank Senator Kerry for clearing that up."

Tyvärr är detta års valkamanj en strid mellan en av de allra smartaste politiker som USA har haft de senaste åren, nämligen Bush och en de allra dummaste, Kerry.

Genom att inte öppet bryta med Bush om Irak så får Kerry ändlösa problem med att förklara sin position, som blir mer och mer invecklad.

Genom att senarelägga det republikanska partikonventet en månad vinner Bush också en hel månads kampanjfinansiering, och genom att förlägga konventet till New York så kan hela konventet gå i "kriget mot terrorismens" tecken.

Kerry kan fortfarande vinna, men han kan bara vinna om ekonomin försämras eller om läget i Irak allvarligt försämras.