Most Americans hold Bush/Cheney to blame for Iraq mess, not Kerry/Edwards.

[Lex]

And that's the way they will vote come November.

All the hand-wringing about Kerry/Edwards will not change who the vast majority of the American people will hold ultimately responsible for Iraq and the lies leading up to Iraq.

As between Democrats we can argue 'til we're blue in the face about who should've known what and when they should've known it. That's fine and dandy, but that's not the conversation that's happening in most of America's livingrooms. It's about how George Bush and Dick Cheney got us up the creek without a paddle.

[powergirl]

1. You're darn right

And the "Edwards and Kerry voted for the war too" rant won't work anymore. Because even their republican bretheren have egg on their face for believing the administrations "intellegence/b.s." This is Bush's War. He calls this necon preemption shit THE BUSH DOCTRINE (he wanted a doctrine so bad to maintain his lame ass legacy) So, he gets to take full credit for it.

[Swamp Rat]

4. Yet there are rants against Kerry and Edwards going on right now at DU

in another thread or two: "Edwards and Kerry voted for the war too." How this is productive at this time, I fail to see. I wanted Dennis Kucinich but he didn't have a chance - neither did Dean (though the corporate media had a lot to with that). While it may have been wrong to give Bush ANY authority for ANYTHING, what's done is done. This doesn't change the fact that this is war belongs to Bush and Cheney, not Kerry and Edwards.

"This is Bush's War." The buck stops at his desk.
A vote for Bush = a vote for killing humans.

[Lex]

7. It's fine if people want to endlessly pick apart what Kerry & Edwards did

and criticize it, but this war belongs to Bush/Cheney, and I think that's how the American people will see it in November.

[emulatorloo]

2. Most American Believed that the President wouldn't lie about Nukes, etc

So what Kerry says will resonate w them.

From NYT interview

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/10/politics/campaign/11TEXT.html

And this president not only abused the intelligence and the information, for which he is responsible, not just Mr. Tenet - not just the vice president, not Secretary Rumsfeld - the president. You know, Harry Truman's sign didn't say, "The buck stops at the Pentagon," or "The buck stops at the intelligence agency," and the fact is that we authorized the president to use force in a responsible way, and I have said for months, you know, I have said it to you, I have said it across the country: this president abused the authority that he was given, by abusing his own promises to the country as to how he would build a coalition and how he would go to war.

Q.Did he mislead you, did he mislead Congress, you, and the American people?

KERRY: Over a period of time, there were a number of misleading statements made by the president. He certainly misled America about nuclear involvement. And he misled America about the types of weapons that were there, and he misled America about how he would go about using the authority he was given. "Going to war as a last resort" means something to me. The president did not go to war as a last resort, period. Moreover it's the responsibility of a president, if you are going to go to war, having said we're going to do all that's necessary, to do all that's necessary. He didn't. Because he had no plan for winning the peace. It is utterly extraordinary the level of miscalculation of this administration, as to what they would find in Iraq and what was going to be necessary. They discarded their own professional military evaluations, from General Shinseki and others, they disrespected professional military careers, turned their backs on their own State Department's plans, and arrogantly believed. . . . And they were wrong. And soldiers lost their lives because they were wrong. And America's paying -billions of dollars because they were wrong, and allies are not with us because they were wrong. I think there is no greater responsibility of the president of the United States.

[Cats Against Frist]

3. I agree

And I think the double whammy of:

1. Iraq was not a threat to the U.S.

and

2. Iraq was not operating in concert with Al-Quaida

people are going to be like "What the hey were we ever doing over there in the first place?" -- because Bush's base isn't exactly humanitarian, if you know what I'm saying. I don't think each of them would be that salient, but together, they might make an impact. This will all be re-hashed again with the 9-11 report, as well as, I think, Bush, the CIA, and Clinton are all going to get harshed by the report -- so Bush will neither be able to claim

1. That he saved the U.S. from WMD

and

2. That he was actively pursuing a terrorist plan before 9-11.

Those are the four major points the Dems need to just cut him down on. That's it right there. It doesn't (sad to say) have to get too much more complex than that.

We have our "memes," now -- and pro-Dems should repeat this every chance they get.

[Doctor_J]

5. well, duh

Bush is, in his own words, a war president. This is his war, and no one else's

[Lex]

6. well, umm, if you read several threads here at DU

you will understand that many DU'ers are more than happy to slam Kerry/Edwards and make it seem that they are as much to blame for Iraq as Bush/Cheney.

My post was just saying that most Americans won't look at it this way, imho.