The Problem with Unresolved Debates

On Iraq, Kerry Again Leaves Democrats Fuming - New York Times

Mr. Kerry's insistence on pushing ahead with his own plan has left the Democrats divided, and open to renewed Republican accusations that they are indecisive and weak - the same ridicule that Republicans heaped on Mr. Kerry in 2004, when his "I was for it before I was against it" statement about a vote on money for the war became a punch line.

"There are certain Democrats who think that this is over, that we've lost or that there's nothing constructive the president is going to do," said Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who, like Mr. Kerry, is considering running for president and who sat in on the meetings where Democrats searched for consensus. "What it really is, in fairness to them, is a frustration that they see no learning curve on the part of this administration. I can understand that frustration. But setting a date is not a plan."

Stepping into an elevator on Capitol Hill late last week, Mr. Kerry was asked whether he was under pressure in the Democrats' meetings to withdraw his proposal. As he insisted he was not, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, standing behind him, raised his eyebrows, then winked.

In an interview, Mr. Dodd, who is also considering a presidential run, said one danger in the November election was in making Democrats look indecisive. "If the argument comes down to, Is it one year or 18 months, I think we're going to confuse people," he said. "I'm not sure what the value is; I think it hurts us rather than helps."

Polls suggest many Americans are eager to see American troops come home from Iraq but are uneasy about leaving too soon. The rival Democratic approaches may reflect that tension, with Mr. Kerry appealing to those who regard the war as a mistake, while the Democratic leaders reflect more caution.

Matt Bennett, a spokesman for Third Way, a group of moderate Democrats, said his organization preferred an approach that did not set a date, proposed by Senators Carl Levin of Michigan and Jack Reed of Rhode Island. Of Mr. Kerry's stance, Mr. Bennett said: "He feels like he needs to sharpen his position. But voters can sense when you're being resolute for convenience sake, or for political advantage."

It's not Kerry's "insistence" that leaves Democrats divided ... it's the fact that Democrats are divided that leave Democrats divided. That's not something that just vanishes overnight. It's also something that doesn't vanish when a Presidential candidate simply refuses to enunciate a clear and definitive model of foreign policy.