RIGHT IS RIGHT. TNR's Isaac Chotiner slams John Kerry for insufficient sincerity on Iraq. "I haven't seen the Massachusetts Senator speak much since November 2004, and so perhaps what took me by surprise was how angry Kerry appeared. Sure, there's a lot to be furious about -- a tragically bungled war, first-and-foremost. But it's also bothersome that Kerry's "journey" on the war has mirrored the polled opinions of the American people perfectly, both substantively and tonally." He should've been paying closer attention. As Ari Berman noticed in The Nation last May, Kerry has been saying the right things on Iraq for awhile now. Chotiner describes this as hungry spotlight-seeking which, in part, it's surely been used for. But the mere timing of it isn't proof enough of opportunism: Public opinion on Iraq has shifted in response to the country's accelerating disintegration. Whatever hopes Kerry had for his initial vote's eventual redemption are surely dashed. Why shouldn't he turn on the conflict ferociously? Chotiner's impulse to question motives rather than appreciate growth seems counterproductive. I'd be ecstatic to see, for example, The New Republic renounce their initial positions on Iraq and change their tune. But until then, I find it somewhat hard to countenance their skepticism of those who have.
--Ezra Klein
