Teresita — you still have not answered my question.
Kerry in 2004 was a man who had thrown away his medals and called the troops in Vietnam rapers and pillagers in sworn Congressional Testimony (damning video). Hardly a “hawk” or anyone peddling security through American Action. He peddled a “Global Test” and subordination of US interests to Europeans and lost … to GWB, perhaps the worst political candidate who won in the last 100 years. Murtha was a Marine who called (since exonerated) US Marines in combat in Iraq war criminals (the Haditha Affair).
Notably, BOTH these incidents were self-inflicted, i.e. Kerry chose in the 1970′s to call the troops War Criminals and Murth in 2004. The electoral consequences of this were devastating.
Al Gore was well positioned to offer a “run to the right” alternative to GWB and Democrats in both 2004 and 2008, ala Kennedy’s “Missile Gap” in 1960. He could have offered an Iraq withdrawal coupled with strikes on Iran, and perhaps even Pakistan, on the theory that we’ll break it and they’ll pay for it. Play to America’s strengths: naval and air power, make enemies afraid, even be willing to nuke potential enemies or nominal states like Pakistan that are both threat and ally, cutting the Gordian Knot with decisive action.
He declined because likely, he understood that the Media and Dem Party is fixated on surrender and appeasement of Muslims at home (creeping sharia) and abroad (terrorism and jihad). He also likely declined because he understood that the Democratic Party has become the Party of elites and minorities, hostile to the interests of most Americans and particularly ordinary white middle class Americans who are regarded as an evil to be eliminated in form or another. Which is a path to permanent irrelevancy, much like the Evening News broadcasts of the big three networks.
What is striking about Obama is that nowhere in his campaign or any Democratic leadership is there any concern about middle class issues and populism. Instead the Party and the candidate have come out unabashedly for greater gas prices, food prices, taxes, and ever-fewer dollars in Democrats pockets.
