Loathsome Kondracke

I can't help but note this ugly column by Morton Kondracke, who sounds more and more like a broken record, claiming Democrats must not criticize Bush, because they turn into traitors in the process. I remember Wacky Kondracke in 1980, when every single one of his predictions regarding the presidential campaign turned out to be wrong. Now, he's just an ugly character assassin:

So why should some Democrats now be acting as though they want to see their country lose a war? Why should they say things that may undermine the morale of U.S. forces and our Iraqi allies and contribute to a U.S. defeat?

And why should they reinforce the image of their party as being so hopelessly force-averse that it can't be trusted to lead on foreign policy?

It's one thing for a Democrat like Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.) to harshly criticize the way the Bush administration is conducting the war and then recommend constructive steps for winning it.

Well, Mort, constructive criticism doesn't do much good. Just ask Joe Wilson and his critique of the Niger uranium claim. A lot of good that did!

What undermines morale is when you realize your leaders are clueless. It's not pointing out the cluelessness: it's the cluelessness itself.

Bush's policies may fail on their own because they were misconceived or badly executed. What shouldn't happen is for U.S. policy to fail because Americans lose their will. Bush's critics, the Democrats, should tell him how to win, not declare that the cause is lost.

What does "win" mean, Mort? If it means a very provocative, indefinite, high-profile American military presence in Iraq, a presence that permanently inflames the Middle East, defeat might well be the best option for our security.