On terrorism: Bush vs. HRC

[pnwmom]

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/

George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton have both just had the opportunity to address the war on terrorism in the context of a relatively sophisticated, academic discussion. Suffice it to say, they used their opportunities differently.

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Now, does Bush's talk of "coldblooded killers" play better on the campaign trail? Of course it does. But does Clinton's refusal to "lump all terrorists together" suggest that she has thought about the issue in a slightly more penetrating way?

Well, let's put it this way: Can you imagine a reporter asking Bush -- as Tomasky asked Clinton -- whether he thought the war on Iraq fits "within the tradition we associate with Truman and Acheson"?

And if a reporter were to ask such a question, can you imagine Bush answering by saying that "it's hard to take what was a philosophy with respect to the use and containment of power during the Cold War and try to shoehorn it into a post-Cold War context"?

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