<an incredible smooth way to position himself >
Yes. He can't be seen as bringing down his own party's PM, but he had positioned himself as the alternative, when/if Labor returns to its pacifist roots. He wants to be the Loyal Opposition, while the Tories can't play that role, because they are Hawks like Blair.
I think the odds are good, of a peace candidate in the U.S. (and not just a nitpicker who snipes around the edges, while refusing to directly challenge the core of the Bush AEI doctrine). As a nation, we are large, there are many interweaving strands in the national character. One of them is, we don't like to see ourselves as Imperialists. This, I think, is the weak point of the Bush Doctrine, and where the point of attack by Doves should be. Every time we act like Imperialists, it needs to be pointed out, holding up the mirror so Americans eventually will see themselves the way the rest of the world sees us. When that happens, support for the NeoCons evaporates.
I see Kerry as the Democrat most able to be that peace candidate. Nobody, and most especially not Bush, can call Kerry a wimp. Every other Dem is susceptible to this line of attack from the Republicans. Kerry is toying with being the Peace Alternative, but hasn't committed to it. |
