WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Eleanor Clift
Newsweek
Updated: 4:31 p.m. ET July 09, 2004
July 9, 2004 - In his choice of a running mate with no national-security credentials, John Kerry is betting that the November election will turn on the economy, not Iraq. To borrow a line Ronald Reagan used about the deficit, “It’s big enough to take care of itself.”
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Events on the ground in Iraq will decide whether the war is a plus or minus for President George W. Bush. Foreign policy isn’t like domestic policy; Bush can’t spin his way out of a disaster in Iraq—not with U.S. casualties giving the lie to the rosy victory speeches.
John Edwards lacks experience, but that isn’t what Kerry was looking for. “Kerry doesn't need ballast; he needs helium,” says a Democratic Senate aide. “More ballast and he'd sink.”
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