Here’s a quiz: was the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan “brilliant” or was it a “catastrophe?” It depends on which senator from Massachusetts is speaking. One Republican press secretary on the Hill noticed — and helpfully sent out an e-mail on the subject — that on “Meet the Press,” when Ted Kennedy was asked about his opinion that the U.S. invasion of Iraq has worsened the nuclear threat in Iran and North Korea, he said this:

I don’t think there’s any question that that’s been the, the case. I think the–we went–after we had the brilliant actions against the al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, the political judgments, as the record is showing now, was made, “Well, we can clear out Iraq just as quickly, and we can go in there.”

Meanwhile, on ABC’s “This Week,” John Kerry was asked about a new tape released by Osama bin Laden:

This is one of the reasons why Donald Rumsfeld should resign. The design of the attack on Afghanistan, which had insufficient troops to surround Tora Bora, insufficient effort to commit American troops, was one of the great catastrophes of this entire effort in the war on terror.