Democrats on national security looking ahead to 2008

[No more McShame]

Here is an article I found in the New Yorker's website.  Biden seems to be mildly critical of Kerry on national security issues.  Does this affect the 2008 campaign?  Or does it expose a rift in the Democratic party?  Especailly looking for reactions from Democrats on the forum.

Link: http://newyorker.com/printable/?fact/050321fa_fact
 

The article itself is a bit long so I'm just posting the link to it here.  Have fun.




  
 

[dazzleman]

I think that the inevitable process of dumping on the guy who lost the election the Democrats thought was highly winnable is on.  The same thing happened to Al Gore, and Republicans would be doing it if the roles were reversed.

Sure, Biden is positioning himself for 2008.  But I always hated this public disclosure of advice given to a candidate.  It's kind of like kissing and telling, particularly when you're playing Monday morning quarterback.  Personally, I think Biden stands about as much chance in 2008 as George Pataki does.

Kerry's problems on the national security issue were not really personal, but endemic to the whole party.  He had to at the same time please a lunatic fringe of voters who are hostile to our national security (the Democratic "base") while convincing enough Americans that he would properly look after national security.  That's a pretty difficult task, and no Democrat except Jimmy Carter in 1976 has been able to do it post-Vietnam when national security was thought to be an issue. 

Clinton won twice, but national security was not an issue in either of his campaigns.  Carter was campaigning in the immediate post-Vietnam and post-Watergate environment, and probably could not have won any other year besides 1976.  The reality is that the nasty 1960s hippies are the Democratic establishment, and it's very hard to convince them that you hate America enough to compromise its security, while at the same time convincing enough of middle America that you love America enough to maintain its security.  That's what every Democratic candidate since 1968 has been required to do.