Roger, I agree completely about the “Hail Mary.” I wrote this post on 9/20, just after Kerry’s NYU speech and before Allawi’s arrival.

John Kerry’s Hail Mary

John Kerry’s speech today was the first in recent memory to have a clear message. I didn’t agree with the message, but it was on message for a change. For the last few weeks he’s been poking around with the ridiculous slogan-a-day gimmick, paying homage to the latest focus group. He’s also stopped the “W is for Wrong” nonsense and the tiresome efforts to work the cost of Iraq into some sort of domestic budget calculus.

What was interesting about the speech wasn’t the content, as usual, but what it told us about Kerry’s current state of mind. The speech signaled two things: 1. Kerry understands his only chance to be elected is if Iraq disintegrates to the point voters turn on President Bush (and he’s not shy about helping it along), and 2. Kerry will say anything to be elected.

Many will quickly, cynically, note the conventional wisdom that politicians will say anything to be elected, but I disagree. It’s hard to imagine Joe Liberman, Evan Bayh, Joe Biden or Bill Clinton, to name just a few, making such reckless statements with troops at war. I think these men would be equally disinclined to launch such an assault on the president on the eve of Prime Minister Allawi’s visit.

So in the absence of any original ideas or positions, John Kerry’s plan is to simply bet against the U.S. in order to be president. In the Marine Corps we learned fourteen traits of leadership — integrity, knowledge, courage, decisiveness, dependability, initiative, tact, justice, enthusiasm, bearing, endurance, unselfishness, loyalty and judgment. When you compare the two candidates on this basis, there’s no comparison.