Not Even a Dime's Worth of Difference

The title is Alexander Cockburn's, who goes on to say,

Kerry goes from bad to worse. Last week he dropped Saddam's non-existent WMDs as a campaign issue.

...absolutely nothing separates Kerry from Bush's positions on Iraq except he claims he would have lied more efficiently and somehow wheedled the UN and NATO into giving support...

So Bush, a lousy president but ludicrously over-demonized, is bracketed by a Democratic candidate, Al Gore, who was calling for immediate war on Saddam back in 1999, flanked by all the neo-Cons who subsequently flocked to Bush, and by Kerry who now says he holds exactly the same position, rationalized by the same neo-Cons.

If the war on Iraq bothers you, a vote for Kerry is a vote thrown away.

How about the plight of ordinary working people? No succor in sight from Kerry here either...

"Ludicrously over-demonized"--I guess you'd call that fainting with damn praise. Cockburn's article was via Ken Layne, who writes,

Last week, when Kerry came out and said he would've authorized the Iraq invasion even knowing there were no WMDs, I thought it was a shockingly stupid error. No longer. It's all part of the seemingly successful plan to paint Kerry as a born killer, somebody who would not only invade Iraq or any other country for no reason at all, but a guy who would insist on going himself for a few Glory Kills. And, holding life & death in his hands, he says he'll send other nations' troops to be slaughtered in Iraq while choosing to give life to some of the U.S. troops. That stiff demeanor and long, cruel face is beginning to look like something else entirely. It's beginning to look like a God of War, a total monster who kills for the sheer pleasure of it, and saves lives for the pure enjoyment of watching a puny human whimper below him in quivering gratitude, giving tribute, sacrificing animals and the first born to His power and whims...

It took three years for the hard-core Bush lovers to completely fall in line. As recently as 2002, many of them were still asking questions about "homeland security," Saudi Arabia, etc. Now, all doubts are gone and all doubters are exiled. What's interesting is how much faster this has happened with Kerry ... even though most Democrats saw him as a Dull Loser earlier this year, it has only taken a few months for him to become flawless in the eyes of his party (except for a few cranky old socialists like Cockburn). An increasing percentage of those in the political middle are starting to think Kerry is bulletproof, too. The anti-war protests are forgotten, as the War God has willed it. After all, he is a trained and savage killer who could care less if he's shooting the enemy or twisting off the head of a three-year-old orphan just to amuse the guys on the Swift Boat.

There's a little perspective for you.