FORGET IT JAKE, IT'S JOHN KERRY:

Democratic Rivals' War Dilemma: Hopefuls Must Reconcile Primary Voters' Doubt With Their Own Calls to Act (Dan Balz, January 31, 2003, Washington Post)

Last week, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) warned President Bush against a "rush to war" with Iraq. This week, shortly before the president's State of the Union address, Kerry said he would support telling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein he has just one more month to disarm or face military action. After the president's speech, Kerry blasted Bush for "blustering unilateralism."

A contradiction? Kerry and his advisers say no, that his quarrel is not with Bush's goal of disarming Hussein but with Bush's failure to bring along more countries in the effort. Kerry's apparent ambivalence, they say, reflects public opinion more than Bush's black-and-white rhetoric does. [...]

Recent polls underscore the Democrats' problem. The latest Washington Post-ABC News Poll showed 57 percent of all Americans favor military action against Iraq -- but among Democrats, 57 percent oppose it. A slight majority (54 percent) of Americans say the United States should set a time limit for inspections, but a bare majority (51 percent) of Democrats say the inspectors should have as much time as they need.

The flip side of the problem comes in a new poll by the Democracy Corps, headed by Democrats James Carville, Stan Greenberg and Robert Shrum. That poll found that when asked which party is more trusted to keep the nation strong, Americans favored Republicans over Democrats 50 percent to 22 percent. Asked which party is more trusted to keep America safe, the Republican margin was 47 percent to 16 percent.

"Democrats are caught between polls showing Republicans up 30 points in keeping the country safe, and heading into primaries with voters who are increasingly skeptical about going to war," said Robert Borosage of the liberal Campaign for America's Future. "I think it's hard to straddle."

Does John Kerry remind anyone else of Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) in Chinatown--the scene where Jake finally figures out what's up with her relationship to her child: Mother...Sister...Mother....Sister...? Posted by Orrin Judd at February 4, 2003 9:38 AM