Reply #23: I think Gore is a stronger leader in the Democratic Party on Iraq.

[Clarkie1]

I just saw the David Letterman show, and I think his statements regarding Iraq were much more presidential, thoughtful, and non-partisan than Kerry's. Here's why.

I read your whole post, and was fine with Kerry's statements up until recently, where he starts saying how it's important "we let the Iraqi government know our patience is limited" (by setting arbitrary deadlines). I think that's wrong because the Iraqi government does not want us there any longer than necessary, either. They don't want to seem tied to America politically any more than necessary, because it will weaken their image among Iraqis. Also, it tells the insurgents what our plan is, so they will inevitably ramp up the violence before the pre-announced "deadline." So, the problem is not as Kerry says to threaten the Iraqi government with a pre-announced deadline in order to get them to move more quickly; it's to work with the Iraqi government in an adult-adult kind of relationship, not a parent-child kind of relationship. We need to use the leverage we have in more thoughtful ways, and not put ourselves into a box into which a real solution may not fit as future events transpire in unknown ways.

Hope you got a chance to see the David Letterman Show.