http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/06/opinion/06THU1.html<snip>
Given the almost uniformly disastrous news coming out of Iraq lately, a presidential challenger might have been tempted to mark last week's anniversary of President Bush's "mission accomplished" stunt with point-scoring sound bites. To his credit, Senator John Kerry instead offered ideas for rescuing American policy in Iraq from the rapidly deteriorating military and political situation.
His handlers might wish that Mr. Kerry was better at one-liners, but we're happy to see a national figure offer a grounded, pragmatic vision of America's role in the world.
Mr. Kerry's notions of how to persuade other countries to support the United States were a real contrast with President Bush's interviews yesterday with Arab television networks approved by the White House. In responding to Muslim rage over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, Mr. Bush sometimes sounded as if he was chiding angry Arabs for not appreciating the United States' good intentions....
Mr. Kerry's ideas would have been difficult to put into effect a year ago. They would be extremely hard to carry out now, and impossible by next January, should he defeat Mr. Bush. But they at least reflect a realistic view of what the United Nations — and the United States — can and cannot do. The Bush administration, meanwhile, clings to the unworkable notion of an American-controlled transition, an idea that grows ever more out of touch with reality as the news of the revolting abuses at Abu Ghraib prison overwhelms any remaining Iraqi faith in Washington's good intentions.
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