President George W. Bush’s misconduct of the war in Iraq has badly eroded the Republican Party’s traditional edge on national security. It’s hard to exaggerate the potential significance of this development. In both 2000 and 2004, Democratic Presidential nominees Al Gore and John Kerry beat George W. Bush on almost every issue in poll after poll save national security — and lost. In 2006, Democrats closed that gap and won control of Congress. In short, if the GOP loses its national security edge, it loses virtually everything.
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If the administration of George W. Bush has taught us anything, it is that politics has serious consequences. This country needs a Democratic President; the anti-war movement has a moral obligation to play this smart. It would be a tragedy if anti-war Democrats insist on fracturing Democratic unity now.
