| Who's the Opponent? |
22 December 2003
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Democrat Ad Gives Bush Foreign Policy Pass
George W. Bush may not be the smartest man to ever live in the White House, nor the richest, best-looking nor most eloquent. However, he just might be the luckiest when it comes to his opponents. A neophyte bungler in foreign policy, he has just been immunized against such accurate charges by, of all people, the Democrats who want him out of office.
A Democratic group calling itself Americans for Jobs, Healthcare and Progressive Values is a two-man operation of David Jones (former fundraiser for Rep. Richard A. Gephardt) as treasurer and former representative Edward Feighan (D-Ohio, who has already given $2,000 to Congressman Gephardt. The duo are running ads against Howard Dean that shows a Time magazine cover shot of Usama bin Laden with a voice over that is astonishing.
“There are those who wake up every morning determined to destroy western civilization. Americans want a president who can face the dangers ahead. But Howard Dean has no military or foreign policy experience. And Howard Dean just cannot compete with George Bush on foreign policy.”
This is the same President George Bush who came to the White House with no foreign policy experience and a gap in his National Guard record (he protected the skies of Alabama from the Viet Cong during his time in the service). This is the same President Bush who has wrecked America's ties to Europe, fought the wrong war in Iraq (over weapons of mass destruction), who has scuttled international environmental policy, and who has lost a trade fight over steel tariffs in the WTO (yet claims to be a free-trader). Above all, he has altered 227 years of US foreign policy in establishing a policy of pre-emptive war.
In their desire for anyone but Dean, these alleged Democrats have taken each and every one of the foreign policy arrows out of the quiver their nominee will need in November. Competing with Mr. Bush on foreign policy should not be a problem unless the contest is one of ineptitude. It is true that Governor Dean is inexperienced in foreign policy -- most American politicians are. Attacking him on this front is perfectly legitimate, and indeed, is a prime reason not to back him. Yet to undermine his position by building up President Bush's in this way is giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
The Democrats managed to hold the White House for eight years by electing Mr. Clinton as a "New Democrat." It might have been more accurate to call him an "Old Republican," like Nelson Rockefeller. Apparently, stealing the other party's policies is acceptable so long as one acquires power. Americans for Jobs, Healthcare and Progressive Values has taken this one step further. Using the other party's arguments against one's own candidates may win a nomination, but it is already losing the election.
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