In a fundraising appeal today, John Kerry used his standard formula of highlighting a few Democrats, often veterans, who have stood up for his favorite initiatives.
What was unexpected this time were the people he picked: Lamont, Akaka and Menendez.
In Connecticut, Ned Lamont has caused a national stir by successfully challenging the Bush position on Iraq that ignores the utter failure of the President's policy and calls for a deeply misplaced reliance on a dangerous course of action. In the Senate, Ned Lamont will go head to head with Don Rumsfeld, and our troops will benefit from Lamont's leadership. He knows that patriotism isn't reserved for those who defend a President's position; patriotism is doing what's right for our troops and our country.
Notice how he doesn't mention Lieberman by name, not even in the "Joe Lieberman is a good friend, but I respectfully disagree... blah blah" hat tip. It was solely about Lamont's
strength on Iraq (I'm sure that's what the whole toe-to-toe with unpopular Rumsfeld was about).
Say what you will about Kerry's 2004 mistakes (and I concede there were many), he knows the importance of speaking from strength. No mention of "redeployment" or "changed course", only standing up to mismanagement and hubris. It was all "Ned Lamont is going to kick ass in the Senate and we need him". I'm convinced this is just the kind of boost Lamont needs.
Kerry is clearly hoping to stake out the toughest position on Iraq for the next presidential campaign season. It's worth noting that Hillary is still using the same platitudes on Iraq, and that Edwards and Warner have not gotten much press on the matter. Second-tierers Bayh, Richardson, Vilsack and Dodd have been virtually silent.
Since Dean won't be running this time and Gore probably won't, there is a good chance the Iraq dynamic will shake up the race. Should it become the dominent dynamic, the way I see it, the only two candidates that are well-positioned are Kerry and Feingold. Feingold has the better record because he voted against the IWR to begin with, but Kerry has the name rec, experience and "gravitas". It could be an interesting showdown.