Annoyance meter creeps into red

Like every rational being, I love CalPundit and frequently agree with Kevin Drum, or at least, am not instantly, scathingly annoyed with the things he says. On the other hand

On the other hand, as much as I like Dean’s message and his charisma, I keep reminding myself that his opposition to the war and his lack of credibility on national security make him unelectable. Maybe that’s not fair, but I’d like a Democrat to win the presidency in 2004, and I’m very skeptical that Dean can beat Bush.

For once, I am scathingly annoyed. And disheartened. Because, if you have been paying attention to the events of the last 3 months, then you must know that Dean is tougher on national security than Bush.

Why?

1. Dean did not support the war against Iraq, a war that—whatever its benefit for the Iraqis—has clearly not been of any benefit to us. There are no WMDs, Iraq was never a threat to America, and so whatever blowback or instability has been wrought by our adventurism has come with no compensatory security gains whatsoever.
2. Dean supports giving firefighters, police, and other first responders—and the cities where they live—the money they need to protect us. And themselves.
3. Dean will keep our troops in Iraq for long enough to clean up the mess we made and leave a decent, safe, and civil society when they go.
4. Dean takes Afghanistan seriously—unlike Bush.
5. Dean takes North Korea seriously—unlike Bush.
6. Dean takes Al-Qaeda seriously—unlike Bush.
7. Dean understands that some problems require the help of allies, and can not be solved by unilateral JDAMmage. Need I say, unlike Bush?

If you can clear your mind for a moment of dizzying Bush spin, you will see that opposition to the Iraq war is in no way incompatible with a credible, strong security posture. The fact that even really smart and thoughtful people with really nice cats can’t see that just demonstrates how deeply that spin has, uh, spun, our national discourse. And that’s why I’m annoyed, and disheartened.

Filed under: politics