Jim Moore’s blog: Innovation, Strategy, Public Policy

You know, in many ways I like John Kerry. So here is some feedback for the Kerry campaign: Really, most Democrats don’t buy into the whole “war on terrorism” shtick. Not that we don’t think security is important–of course we do. And not that we won’t put a premium on competence in foreign policy and military leadership–we will. But by the same token, most Democrats think Bush is grandstanding when it comes to this “war.” Democrats and many independents think it is a joke for George to call himself a “wartime president” and compare himself with Abraham Lincoln or FDR. So I can’t believe John Kerry’s blog today calls 9/11 “our generation’s Pearl Harbor!” John, your blogger has got to be kidding, that makes George Bush “our generation’s FDR! ” The “wartime president” theme is a Bush campaign meme. Why is your blog promoting it?

We need a president who can wage peace. We need a president who can seriously understand the complexities of today’s world, and lead its transformation. John Kerry probably has the capacities to do this. In my view he needs to organize himself, his team, his allies, and his message around this goal.

The Bush war on terrorism and his “first superpower” foreign policy is falling apart all around us. It is imploding. People are fast waking up to this. We are entering a new political period. By next February, people won’t want a next leader who can take the Bush “war” over and make it work. They will want a next leader who realizes, with them, that the Bush team’s entire conception and implementation of the “war” was mistaken. People will want a new leader with a new way forward.