But in the end, many folks will vote on where we go from hereKerry has no plan, other than criticizing Bush, which he has done to every president who has been involved in a war since he was in college.
His plan it to bring the troops home, i.e., admit defeat and turn tail; the American public will not sit still for that.
Actually that is not what Kerry said. What he said was his great and original plan to get others to share the burden, train Iraqi troops, etc. would prove so successful, that it would be realistic to think he could wrap it up on his watch, and start bringing the boys and girls home early on his watch. The guy was over-promising in a word (something that Bush is rather too skillful at admittedly, but Kerry is so much better at), and just "Bidening" what is in fact the Bush plan. Kerry also is slipping into the mode of suggesting it was all a mistake from the getgo. That is a risky thing to say, vis a vis the morale of the troops, the implicit suggestion that he would favor leaving Saddam in power (something Kerry has been very careful to avoid suggesting) but then Kerry needs to take risks.
Bush just needs to respond, in a gravitas mode. They are no magic bullets for Iraq.