Is Kerrys Inconsistency On Iraq

Is Kerry’s Inconsistency on Iraq a Liability?

Mother Jones,, rather unaccountably relying on Max Boot, raises the question of whether Kerry’s changing Iraq position will hurt him in the campaign. Kerry voted for the congressional authorization of the war, but then voted against Bush’s request for $87 billion more after the war ($20 bn. for Iraq reconstruction).

So far Iraq isn’t a big factor in the campaign, and unless things go badly wrong, it may not emerge as such. So it isn’t clear that Kerry’s position will be relevant one way or another. But the journalists’ fixation on “consistency” is anyway not usually shared by the public. After all, Kerry’s positions have been pretty typical of most Americans–initial support for the Iraq war, then profound dismay at the Bush adminstration’s handling of the aftermath, then sticker shock at the $87 bn. request (which won’t be the last).