Scorched Earth Strategy

Oct. 8 - The rationale for war in Iraq has collapsed, so President George W. Bush has declared another war, this one on John Kerry. Bush's blistering attack on Kerry as weak and wavering on war and the worst kind of tax-and-spend liberal foreshadows the next four weeks. Get ready for a scorched-earth campaign from the Bushies, beginning with tonight's debate in St. Louis. Bush can't defend his policies, so he's conjuring up an image of …

…voters. It's like a bad marriage, says Wilson. You have to first come to grips with the fact that you're in a bad relationship. Then you have to decide to do something about it--and finally you have to muster the courage to go out with somebody new. The country has a lot invested in Bush as protector in chief. Admitting that confidence was misplaced is hard, and that's what makes this such a close race.