Seismic Shift

The Washington Post - yes the Washington Post - liked George Bush's speech before the United Nations yesterday, using words like "lofty" and "idealistic." Check out this headline: Bush Stands His Ground, Sets Himself Apart

President Bush's speech before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday was the verbal equivalent of a "greatest hits" album, repackaging and summarizing the key foreign-policy themes the president has embraced in the past four years. He faced a tough audience -- many of the world leaders listening are quietly rooting for the victory of his opponent in the upcoming election -- but without apology or retreat, the president cast the war on terrorism as a defining moment that will usher in democracy across the globe.

In the speech, Bush signaled he will continue to deal with the world on his own terms. He brushed aside the United Nations' refusal to back the war -- and Secretary General Kofi Annan's recent comment that the war was illegal -- by asserting that "a coalition of nations enforced the just demands of the world." Despite the inability to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq -- the stated reason for the attack -- Bush also said: "We're determined to prevent proliferation and to enforce the demands of the world, and my nation is grateful to the soldiers of many nations who have helped to deliver the Iraqi people from an outlaw dictator."

Meanwhile, Kerry's response sounds shrill and tinny. "I believe the president missed an opportunity of enormous importance for our nation and for the world," Kerry told reporters in Jacksonville. "He does not have the credibility to lead the world. And he did not and will not offer the leadership in order to do what we need to do to protect our troops, to be successful and win the war on terror in an effective way."

And Kerry fancifully imagines that Saddam would simply have fallen from power once weapons inspectors proved that he had no weapons of mass destruction. "If you don't have weapons of mass destruction, believe me, Saddam Hussein is a very different person," Kerry said. "That's what kept him in power. And I believe Saddam Hussein would not be in power. This president avoided approaching this in responsible ways, and it's a tragedy."