Reporting for duty

[question everything]

Kerry presented his credentials to be commander in chief, too

By Linda Beail
August 1, 2004

One clear theme emerged from the past week's Democratic National Convention in Boston. John Kerry is not simply running for president. He is specifically campaigning to be commander in chief. Since at least 1972, when George McGovern ran an anti-war campaign in the midst of the Vietnam conflict, the Democratic Party has been viewed by voters as soft on defense and less trusted on foreign policy than the Republicans. But this year, the Democrats are refusing to concede the issue.

Harking back to the toughness of Harry Truman and resolve of John F. Kennedy in the global arena, the speakers in Boston repeatedly used the word "strength" to emphasize the character and patriotism of their presidential nominee. From Bill Clinton's rousing address on the opening night to the closing lines of Kerry's acceptance speech, we were continually reminded that as Americans, "we are all in the same boat," and that John Kerry can be trusted as the strong and steady captain of our ship in these turbulent times. This choice of theme was a shrewd but not surprising move for the Democratic Party.

Polls show voters already prefer Kerry to Bush on domestic issues like health care, the economy and education, traditional areas of Democratic strength. But in this post-Sept. 11 era, with the country at war, national security concerns cannot be ignored. Democratic primary voters grasped this early on. Despite being initially energized by the anti-war, anti-Bush rhetoric of Howard Dean last winter, they quickly flocked to Kerry the war hero as the most "electable" candidate against a sitting wartime president. So instead of emphasizing a domestic agenda, as Bill Clinton did a decade ago, Kerry is addressing head-on the one issue where Bush has an advantage in the minds of the public: his ability to deal with terrorism.

Bush may indeed be vulnerable on his international record. Only a third of Americans are satisfied with his handling of Iraq, and his approval rating on terrorism has eroded from two-thirds of the public in January, to just over half. Though 75 percent of Americans supported sending troops to Iraq when the war began, today a majority of Americans say it was a mistake given what we know now. According a July survey by the Pew Research Center, Bush's overall job approval is down to 46 percent, a dangerous low for an incumbent going into an election.

More...

Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040801/news_mz1e1beail.html


Beail is professor and chair of the Department of History and Political Science at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.