The Straddler

Political analysis is not our strong suit here at VI, but what’s a blog for if not for offering amateurish, half-baked opinions? Tally ho, then!

I didn’t see the debate last night (my wife and I watched the truly wonderful Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind instead), but I perused the transcript this morning as well as commentary from various sites and blogs.

For what it’s worth, it seems to me that Kerry made two distinct arguments about the Iraq war which are not entirely compatible.

The first is to concede that Saddam was a threat, but then to say we should have done more to get our allies on board and exhausted every avenue at the UN before invading. However well this kind of multilateralism uber alles position may go over with readers of the New York Times, it ain’t gonna play in Peoria. Bush will always be able to say that he’s not going to wait around for UN permission to protect America from looming threats.

Kerry’s better argument was to maintain that the war in Iraq has been a costly distraction from the war on terrorism properly speaking, especially the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. This kind of argument will appeal to swing voters who want a strong commander-in-chief ready to defend the nation. It also has the merit, in my view, of being true.

But the point is that Kerry can’t consistently hold both positions. If Saddam was indeed a threat (or perhaps if we were justified in perceiving him to be a threat), then it becomes less persuasive to claim that the Iraq war was unnecessary. By conceding that Iraq posed a genuine danger, Kerry gives Bush the high ground, allowing him to paint himself as the decisive leader.

Of course, it’s hard for Kerry to deny that Saddam posed a danger and explain his vote to authorize the use of force. Thus, he’s forced back to taking the position that we should have done it differently. So, was the going into Iraq a good idea that was just carried out ineptly, or was it a bad idea per se that detracts from our effectiveness in stopping al-Qaeda? Kerry seems to want to have it both ways.