Ever since 2004 the Iowa Caucuses have made me very nervous. That was the year that John Kerry won in Iowa then coasted to the Dem nomination on his record as a war hero. Kerry pushed that image as far as it would go – even stepping to the convention podium for his acceptance speech and smartly saluting that he was “reporting for duty”. He was begging to be swift-boated. The Repubs could hardly wait to do their part.
Voters that year knew that Iraq was being mismanaged – John McCain among others was saying as much (at least under his breath). People wanted a hero with military experience – someone who really knew the lay of the land – to come in and fix things. Ironically the Dems had a candidate that year that filled the bill – Gen. Wesley Clark. He had foreign policy experience, having served as the head of NATO forces – the same forces now fighting in Afghanistan. He had successfully waged war to protect Muslims from Serbian ethnic cleansing, winning that war with no American casualties (that’s right, none) so his credentials both in the military and in the Middle East were particularly shining. And as a southern centrist Dem he was probably electable – history shows that ex-generals are far more likely to win than sitting Senators.
But Clark sat out Iowa. By the time the dust settled Kerry had claimed the role of War Hero and Clark’s candidacy was history. Unfortunately for Dems Kerry’s military experience wasn’t broad enough to maintain his heroic stature during the general election. When the inevitable attacks came and the ground underneath his feet began to crumble Kerry had nowhere else to stand.
When Bill Clinton talks about he difference between style and substance this is what he is talking about. I hope the good folks in Iowa are listening.
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