President Bush is one of those fellows who can literally talk up a storm. He is also among those who know exactly when and how to take shelter. He began by saying that he would make America invulnerable to terrorism and that he would wring Saddam Hussein's neck. Actually, he had three necks in mind and omitted one, that of Osama bin Laden, that he shouldn't have.

His war on Afghanistan was a win that failed but which could improve. His war against Iraq was a total failure. Bush declared it a success on a precise date. After that all the news out of Iraq or about Iraq has been bad. Has this fazed Bush? No way! Has this then at least damaged his standing as a politician? Think again!

Bush is proving to be perhaps the most skilful political strategist in history. He has down cold the art of retreating without giving an inch. To get out of the American invulnerability hole, he explained that it was really an international defense against "rogue states". When no WMD were found in Iraq, he was so unmindful of the consequences that he even joked about it in public. After the going started getting rough in Iraq, he went to the UN and spoke there as if the man who had previously given it the finger wasn't he. Without missing a beat, he declared Chirac a bosom buddy. Finally he said that the war on terror or on terrorism--in America no one knows or cares if there is a difference--could not be won. Yet this warrior losing on all fronts because of his own errors is still a war hero. 

Now, let's consider John Kerry. Has he exploited any of his opponent's foibles? On the contrary! Kerry, who really was a war hero, has been driven to having to defend his military reputation. He has an incredibly sissy Jane-Fonda complex about Vietnam. Instead of distancing himself from the Middle Eastern mess that Bush has created, he seems absolutely determined to assume some kind of duty to get on with it.

In an article lamely titled "Bush exploits the 'mythic reality' of war", Paul Krugman, an obvious Kerry well-wisher, admits that Bush has his candidate on the run. But his suggestion of how to turn Kerry's campaign around is nothing short of puerile. He writes: "If I were running the Kerry campaign, I'd remind people frequently about Bush's flight-suit photo-op, when he declared the end of major combat". Big deal!

If I were Kerry, I would tell Americans that Bush is a loud-mouthed fool that has cost the USA more in prestige than any previous president. I would tell them that I would close the chapter on Iraq within six months and that I would make the world proud to follow America 's lead again. I would tell them that sooner or later they will have to face the facts that the unconditional Israeli alliance is a liability that has to be dealt with before it bankrupts American foreign policy. In sum, I would tell them what Kerry hasn't had the guts to tell them, which is the reason why he is going to be snowed under come next November. It's gotten so bad for Democrats in this race that in New York a voter said that 9/11 was Clinton's fault because he didn't tell Bush it was going to happen!  (08-09-2004)