RCP has provided, as usual, a good picture of debate America is having on the run up to this fall’s elections. Today is a truly good day for comparisons as the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfled, and the previous Democrat candidate for President, John Kerry, discuss the war on terror and where we are heading. Recall these articles are coming out on the eve of the 9-11 anniversary. Both men are important because one would have been Commander-in-Chief and the other is the right hand man to the current Commander-in-Chief. Second, both men supported that actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, until Kerry faced his liberal base and concluded (wrongly) that his only option was to change his stripes. I suggest people read them in their totality first, before going through the rest of this post and seeing the comparison I have laid out:

As we reflect on the fifth anniversary of 9/11, the question takes on more significance. What have years of despotism, of murder and of acts of unimaginable cruelty yielded for the enemy?

The answer is clear: not much. Some sources of funding are drying up. Extremists have lost sanctuaries once used to train and launch attacks. As the president recently noted, two of the world’s leading terrorist sympathizers – Iraqi Ba’athists and the Taliban – are gone. Those not already dead or in jail are under pressure every day.

But what about our country? What did that series of attacks five years ago bring to our country and to the Free World?

Extremists seem to have believed the rush of sorrow from a catastrophic attack would make us afraid. They hoped we would turn away from our freedoms. But the pain we felt that day as the twin towers fell, and as smoke rose over the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, revealed our inner strength – one that has been defined by the actions of heroes on 9/11 and by those defending our nation in the years that have followed.

Inspirational words. Perfect for honoring those who died and all those who rose to the challenge to take on the Islamo-Fascists (and yes, fascist is the right word given Al Qaeda’s morbid fear of democracy). Now Kerry

Five years after Sept. 11, where are we? Bogged down in Baghdad, beleaguered around the world and bitterly divided at home.

Democrats have a unique responsibility not just to oppose what has failed but to propose a new course that can defeat jihadist terrorism once and for all.

There are many things we can and must do better, but there are five steps to start: Redeploy from Iraq, recommit to Afghanistan, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, reform our homeland defense and restore America’s moral leadership in the world. These are five bold steps Democrats would take to strengthen our national security, and that the Republicans who have set the agenda resist to our national peril.

What can be said? Kerry is not addressing 9-11. There is no reflection on that terrible day and the souls lost. Did he forget or did he avoid the matter at hand? He is using the moment for self serving, partisanship – that much is clear. The Dems have decided to wage war on Bush and the GOP, they have completely lost site of the target. And in Kerry’s case some reality. The oil reduction angle is a real headscratcher. Most people in the ME are NOT lined up to kill us. Kerry seems to be playing on prejudice and bias here. But the most virulent Islamo fascist state was Afghanistan – no oil there. Do the dems and their message managers have any brains? Am I too believe that to secure my family all I need to do is dump the SUV and buy a hybrid?? Yes, we need to have less reliance on foreign oil, but the Dems have blocked all efforts to do anything here with domestic oil reserves. Kerry’s penchant for horrific timing is still par none, given the fact a large oil deposit has been found in the Gulf of Mexico.

But back to the dichotomy at hand (and more Kerry timing issues). Rumsfeld, as most of us who supported the need to face Saddam’s threat, looks back and sees the progress made (and there has been much) and the sacrifices made to achieve them:

They are reminders that we must treat every day since September 11th with the same sense of urgency we felt on September 12th if we are to ensure the safety of the American people.

Americans no longer stand behind the glass walls of passive defense – waiting to see where they will crack – hoping the breaks are small. Thousands of America’s young men and women are hunting extremists in dangerous parts of the world. They have brought the end of two cruel and dangerous regimes, and they continue to plant the seeds of liberty in their place. Their noble duty is a difficult one, but one they take on freely so that generations from now, Americans will not have to gather on anniversaries like this, questioning why evil men took still more of their loved ones away.

It is clear Rumsfeld (and Bush) are not looking to the next poll or next election. And they appreciate and honor the efforts of our military which have gone into harms way, in strange and sometimes unfriendly places, to change the world to a more peaceful place. Looking through Rumsfeld’s eyes we see the shining city on the Hill again, where WE live and sacrifice to help others. Now Kerry:

We must refocus our military efforts from the failed occupation of Iraq to destroying al-Qaeda. Iraqi leaders have responded only to deadlines and we must set another deadline to get Iraq up on its own two feet: July 2007. We also need real diplomacy. Only through negotiation can you stem the growing civil war. Redeploy troops from Iraq, maintain training forces and an over-the-horizon capacity, and free up resources to fight the war on terror.

We can’t sustain the delusion that the war in Afghanistan is over. On Thursday the president said we’re on the offensive against terrorists in Afghanistan, even as the NATO commander made a desperate plea for more troops to stop a major Taliban offensive. We must send significant reinforcements to Afghanistan – at least 5,000 more troops, equipment and reconstruction funds so that the United States, not the Taliban, rebuilds the new Afghanistan.

In the eyes of John Kerry nothing is succeeding. Supposedly Iraq is a failure while news is breaking they are progessing to full autonomy by taking control of their military (more bad timing by Kerry). And the Afghanistan comment is truly confounding. America just recently passed the banner to NATO in that country – the same NATO Kerry swore up and down would be able to handle Iraq. If NATO is in trouble so quickly, why is Kerry asking us to send more troops into that quagmire? The man is a complete idiot to me.

The last comparison to make is one that I can only point to Rumsfeld for comment. Because, as I said, Kerry made no mention of what exactly makes this weekend special. One more time to Don Rumsfeld:

We remember the courage of the many first responders who raced into the burning World Trade Center; those who helped others exit the burning Pentagon; and a group of passengers aboard Flight 93 who tried to retake their plane – led by the rally cry: “Let’s roll.”

Those actions, burned into our collective memory, are the legacy of that day. We came away from September 11th and every day after with a renewed determination to embrace the values that set our nation apart – that of service to a cause greater than ourselves, and of a devotion to liberty, equality and opportunity.

Mr. Kerry? …. [crickets chirping]