Fuzzy

Morton Kondracke still can't find a coherent message coming from John Kerry.

Kerry does not inspire confidence as a replacement manager of the Iraq enterprise. For one thing, his strategic aim remains unclear. He says that his purpose is to "succeed" and that his "objective" is a stable Iraq.

But he also has established what amounts to a deadline for beginning U.S. troop withdrawals (six months) and for total U.S. withdrawal (four years). There's a distinct flavor of "Aikenism" about his pronouncements.

During the depths of the Vietnam War in 1966, Sen. George Aiken (R-Vt.) famously advised that the United States "declare victory and withdraw" whether the mission was accomplished or not.

It would be a tragedy - for the United States, the Iraqis and the world - if the United States pulled out prematurely and left chaos behind.

Bush has said that his objective in Iraq is to "prevail." Since he regards Iraq as the "central front in the war on terrorism," and since his goal is to "win" that war, he seems more likely to persevere than Kerry is.