Hi Jonah,
I didn’t mean in my post to suggest that Kerry would have more
political capital than Bush. What I meant was this: one of the
strongest arguments for Bush, in my mind, is that, in another Iraq-like
situation, he would probably favor the use of force whereas Kerry would
not. My political capital point was simply that I don’t think Bush
would actually be able to use force in another Iraq-like situation,
whether he wanted to or not. It’s not a point in Kerry’s favor — it’s
simply an explanation of why I don’t think that what appears to be a
point in Bush’s favor at first glance actually pans out.
I also think that your LBJ analogy is somewhat flawed. While a big
chunk of the Democratic base was, indeed, anti-war, I think it’s a
much, much smaller chunk that wants a quick withdrawal now. Some of
them are indeed that irresponsible, but most Democrats seem to be
saying that we should never have gotten here, but now that we are, we
need to do it right. I just don’t see Kerry facing LBJ-like pressures
to pull out.
Voting for Kerry wasn’t a decision I came to easily or happily. But I
just don’t think the Bush Administration has executed foreign policy
well enough to deserve reelection.