THOUSANDS OF ADVISERS BUT NO FRIENDS:

The Last Refuge: The Democratic nominee has shunned substance for patriotic atmospherics. Will it work? (William Kristol, 08/09/2004, Weekly Standard)

UNWILLING TO ARTICULATE a serious policy agenda, unable to explain why his record qualifies him to be president, John Kerry fled Thursday night to the refuge of patriotism.

Kerry's convention speech was in some respects competent, in some respects pedestrian, in some respects bizarre. But it sure was patriotic. And perhaps to good political effect. After all, the American people are patriotic. Over the last quarter century, they have often suspected that elements of the Democratic party are not as patriotic as they are--or not patriotic in the same uncomplicated, straightforward way. In the peaceful 1990s, this suspicion did little damage to Democratic presidential candidates. But the 1990s ended on September 11, 2001. Now we are at war. So John Kerry wrapped the flag tightly around himself in his acceptance speech in order to convince Americans doubtful about President Bush that they could safely go ahead and vote to remove him, and put Kerry in charge.

This strategy may not work. But it is not stupid. What, after all, were Kerry's alternatives?

We've all had a good time poking fun at Mr. Kerry for his dithering and the story about how he has thousands of people advising him, but what's kind of frightening is that there's no one close enough to him to tell him that the speech he wrote stunk. Laura Bush, Karen Hughes, Karl Rove, and a few others can all speak bluntly to the President. Given how terrible Mr. Kerry's judgement has been over the course of his adult life can we afford to have him rely on it?

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 30, 2004 10:31 PM