Kerry should be glad he lost

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,482-1343295,00.html

FOR THOSE of us who were disappointed, and even horrified, by George W. Bush’s return to power there was one consolation in yesterday’s result. On the contrary, the previously unmentionable hope for the supporters of liberal politics in America, is that Senator Kerry has done the Democratic Party a favour of immense, historic proportions by losing to Mr Bush. In military history, it is a commonplace that there are certain battles worth losing rather than winning — and if ever this were true in politics, then the 2004 US election would be a case in point.


To see what I mean, step away from America for a moment and consider the most successful left-of-centre party in the modern world: Britain’s “new” Labour Party. Now ask yourself what electoral event laid the foundation for Labour’s success. This would be the 1992 election, in which a manifestly incompetent Tory Government was unexpectedly and undeservedly returned to power.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right border=0 VALIGN="TOP"><TBODY><TR><TD id=mpuHeader name="mpuHeader"></TD></TR><TR align=right><TD align=right><SCRIPT type=text/javascript>NI_MPU('middle');</SCRIPT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>If Neil Kinnock instead of John Major had won the 1992 election, the devaluation of Black Wednesday would have occurred even sooner. The monetary crisis which undermined the Tories’ long-established reputation for economic competence would have been blamed on Labour’s mismanagement. Black Wednesday (or Monday or Tuesday) would almost certainly have brought down the Kinnock Government and would unquestionably have ended Labour’s hopes of ever again becoming a serious party of government. Indeed, as a very minor contributor to the outcome of the 1992 election through my articles unravelling Labour’s absurd tax plans, I have often been thanked by friends in the party for inadvertently helping them to avoid the terrible fate awaiting them if they had gained power.

So was 2004 a good election to lose, just like 1992 in Britain? Will the Democrats one day thank John Kerry for losing, just as Labour is grateful to Mr Kinnock? This seems distinctly possible, given the challenges now facing America, especially in geopolitics and macroeconomics. Iraq is a mess which Mr Bush created and it is surely fitting that he should be the one forced to clean it up. The same is true of ballooning government deficits, escalating oil prices and the small but growing, threat of a crisis in the US balance of payments leading to an international run on the dollar.

Extricating American forces from Iraq will be extremely difficult for Mr Bush, especially if he tries to maintain significant control over its foreign policies and its energy resources. Restoring stability to Iraq, without handing the country over to an overtly anti-Western or theocratic regime will become even harder if Mr Bush decides to pick a fight with Iran over nuclear proliferation — or, even worse, if he backs Israel in a “pre-emptive” military attack. To control America’s public finances will be equally difficult, given that the President and his party are now totally committed to ever-lower taxes, ever-more aggressive military postures and ever-more generous corporate subsidies.

It is quite likely, therefore, that in the next year or two President Bush could face a military or economic crisis (or both) — and, crucially, that such a crisis would be analogous to Black Wednesday in its political effects. If Mr Bush suffered a serious military setback, either in Iraq or in a broader confrontation involving Iran, Israel and other Middle East countries (not to mention North Korea or Taiwan), the Republicans would lose their reputation as the “party of national security”, just as the British Tories lost their reputation as the party of economic competence in 1992. The damage to the Republicans’ national security reputation would be even greater if America were hit by a serious terrorist attack or if withdrawal from Iraq turned into a disorderly Vietnam-style humiliation.

On the economic front, the Republicans risk disgrace if they raise taxes or if, as is much more likely in my view, America suffers a financial and inflationary crisis because of its failure to bring the federal budget back under control.

But even if the Bush Administration manages to avoid any such disasters, the analogy with Britain in the early 1990s suggests that the Democrats should be grateful to stay out of the White House for the next four years. The electorate’s decision to let Mr Bush clear up his own messes does not just threaten the incumbent with poetic justice; more importantly it offers a reprieve from a potential death sentence on the Democrats. If a newly-elected President Kerry were to suffer a terrorist attack or a humiliation in Iraq or some kind of fiscal crisis, the political backlash against the Democrats would be far worse than the damage faced in similar circumstances by Mr Bush.

For as hard as Mr Kerry would try to blame the Bush legacy for any such disasters, the public would see them as evidence that the Democrats as a party are weak on terrorism, prone to defeat in military confrontations and ideologically committed to higher tax. It is again worth imagining the public reaction in Britain if it had been the economic policies of Mr Kinnock, instead of Mr Major, that were blown away by the markets six months after the election of 1992.

In sum, the next four years could be a good time for the Democrats to let right-wing Republicans take their policies to their logical conclusion and beyond. Just as Mr Major took Thatcherism beyond its logical conclusions with policies such as rail privatisation and the bizarre moralising of “back to basics”, the Republicans could overreach themselves not only in economics and foreign policy but also in social and environmental matters and o n the membership of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the Democrats must rebuild their party, unite around an impressive new leader and wait for Republican mythology to self-destruct in the face of events. All this will happen in time, very possibly in the next four years. If so, the Democrats may one day hail Mr Kerry as the man whose defeat paved the way for Hillary Clinton, just as Labour now reveres Mr Kinnock as the lucky loser who made possible the triumphs of Tony Blair.
 
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I agree ....

This country is in for some very rough times ahead in term #2

Hope I'm wrong but doubtful with all the parameters that are in place
 

bushman
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The problem is that no-one overseas trusts Bush and his politburo.

They have their own agenda.

Which is fine, as long as they understand that they really are on their own as far as the international community is concerned.

The took the piss out of the world via the UN, Iraq etc.

Now they are left with the consequences of those actions.

Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
 

Is that a moonbat in my sites?
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Jesus! The liberal mindset and its ability to think in convoluted circles just amazes me!

Doom and gloom, doom and gloom for all who don't agree with us! The world as we know it is going to end tomorrow, and if it doesn't, well, it's because the liberals made a timely world saving move that will last long enough to get them back into power and save the world from itself!

Un-be-godamned-lievable!
 

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eek. said:
The problem is that no-one overseas trusts Bush and his politburo.

They have their own agenda.

Which is fine, as long as they understand that they really are on their own as far as the international community is concerned.
Of course the U.S. is going to act out of it's own self-interest. EVERY NATION IN THE WORLD DOES WHAT IT DOES OUT OF IT'S OWN SELF-INTEREST. Get it straight. That includes England, France, Spain, Russia, Germany and all the others in the miserable band of misfits you have over there in Europe, as well as every other country in every other continent in the world. England isn't making moves worrying about France's best interests and vice versa.

"We're on our own as far as the international community is concerned." Well...aren't we all, in a way? So, while Europe is pissing and moaning (what else can they do?), enjoy the ride on American coattails as it keeps the seas safe, maintains order and stabilty in markets, insures the flow of oil, and keeps hostile, radical countries from becoming too powerful.
 

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Think of it like basketball. The "big" countries are the starting five and this team has a deep bench. The US is the star player, the one that will take the credit for the win and the blame for the loss. Now if the US wants to win, it can either be a ballhog and try to do it all. Or it can be a team player and let the rest of the team ease the load. If it needs a break to concentrate on what it is most concerned about, it can turn to the hated UN to come off the bench and do stuff like peacekeeping in Haiti and a bunch of other places the US has clearly showed it has no interest in. The 9/11 attacks were like a 20-0 run for the opponent, they took a big lead and left everyone pointing fingers. Afghanistan was an 8-0 run for the "good guys", but still leaves them behind. The US decides it must do everything and goes into Iraq, with only Britain there to rebound a few shots that are missed. Otherwise this might as well be Kobe Bryant going 1 on 5. I think Bush and his advisers realize that just isn't the path anymore. They got their last election win they needed, the one where they felt they couldn't look weak to the voters. Now tired by casualties, difficulties in achieving goals, and mounting financial troubles the US is probably considering that maybe, just maybe, they ought to pass the ball a bit, maybe sit on the bench for a short stint and let some others take the burden. It wouldn't surprise me at all.
 

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I don't foresee Bush pulling out of the middle east anytime soon.....to do so would be in effect admitting defeat in a messed up, ill-planned war......if we ever do pull out of Iraq, the most likely scenario for Iraq will be a weak governing party that will be in the crosshairs for the next political assassinations....chaos and civil war to follow.....

A more likely scenario will be of the "stay the course" variety......having lost any chance of being helped by the international community.......the USA will be left doing all the heavy lifting and all the heavy spending, and of course, fill all the body bags for another 4 more years to come.

Time to trade those US dollars for some Euros, boys.....while the dollar can still buy some....

Doom and gloom is looking more and more like an inevitable reality.
 

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