Kerry the Hawk

Via Political Wire:
Washington Whispers says Sen. John Kerry's campaign hopes "to portray the election as a 1960 redux between a hard-nosed Dem and an administration that talks tough but can't win the issue of the day -- missile gap then, terrorism now."
Putting Bush on the defensive on national security and foreign affairs is a good idea. During the 1980's, the Democrats tried to avoid defense issues and that didn't work out so well. There is also the additional benefit that the more Kerry attacks Bush's failure in the War On Terror, the less Bush can try and make Kerry look like a wimp. However, its worth pointing out a key difference between 2004 and 1960. The missile gap was non-existent, while Al Qeada's continued threat (unlike the danger of Iraqi WMD's) is very real.

Update: Kerry has called for the addition of 40,000 new troops to the army and a strengthening of the CIA. It looks like he's really serious about hitting Bush from the right on foreign policy. Combined with his war record, this new toughness on the part of John Kerry might really help him out among the so-called Reagan Democrats and other likeminded folks.