by Victor Davis Hanson<\/p>\n
New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n The\u00a0<\/em>New York Times<\/strong>\u00a0asked a few leading commentators to pose questions to President Bush and Senator Kerry at the first debate on September 30th, 2004.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n How might you explain the apparent abrupt change in policy of Libya; the unexpected removal of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s atomic bomb; and the about-face in Saudi Arabia – and what precise plans do you have to induce similar such positive changes in attitude in Iran, Lebanon and Syria?<\/p>\n In January, you promised to be a president who “reduces the overall need for deployment of American forces in the globe – and I mean North Korea, Germany and the rest of the world.” More recently, however, you have chastised President Bush for saying that he will do precisely that, suggesting that his “hastily announced plan raises more doubts about our intentions and our commitments than it provides real answers.” As president, would you send those departing American troops back into Germany and on the Korean Peninsula to restore previous levels? And if not, why?<\/p>\n President Bush was the first American president to isolate Yasir Arafat. Do you agree with the president’s radical step of ostracizing Mr. Arafat? If so, would you also ensure that he is no longer a party to the Middle East peace negotiations?<\/p>\n \u00a92004 Victor Davis Hanson<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What to ask John Kerry by Victor Davis Hanson New York Times The\u00a0New York Times\u00a0asked a few leading commentators to pose questions to President Bush and Senator Kerry at the first debate on September 30th, 2004.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[798],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-1bZ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5320,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/four-months-in-vietnam\/","url_meta":{"origin":4587,"position":0},"title":"Four Months in Vietnam","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 27, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Or how to misdirect public attention. by Bruce S. Thornton Private Papers Everyone knows magicians use misdirection to make their illusions work. While one hand distracts us the other is pulling the egg or coin from its hiding place. Politics is no different, as the Kerry campaign and its shills\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bruce S. Thornton"","block_context":{"text":"Bruce S. Thornton","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/bruce-s-thornton\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4609,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/george-bush-our-uncommon-hedgehog\/","url_meta":{"origin":4587,"position":1},"title":"George Bush, Our Uncommon Hedgehog","author":"victorhanson","date":"September 7, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"The advantages of \"one big\" idea. by Victor Davis Hanson Private Papers The greatest criticism of George Bush comes from the artistic and intellectual world. Alfred A. Knopf just published a novel by a prize-winning author about killing the President. The same theme of assassination is the stuff of off-Broadway\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "September 2004"","block_context":{"text":"September 2004","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2004\/september-2004\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4554,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/allow-george-w-bush-to-finish-the-job\/","url_meta":{"origin":4587,"position":2},"title":"Allow George W. Bush to Finish the Job","author":"victorhanson","date":"November 2, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"In war, the last campaigns are the bloodiest. by Victor Davis Hanson Wall Street Journal A shorter version of this essay appeared in the\u00a0Wall Street Journal. In singular moments in our history, the security of the United States hinged on a single presidential election. Imagine George McClellan recognizing an undefeated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "November 2004"","block_context":{"text":"November 2004","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2004\/november-2004\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5313,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/deconstructing-kerrys-case-against-president-bush-part-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":4587,"position":3},"title":"Deconstructing Kerry’s Case Against President Bush: Part One","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 14, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce S. Thornton Private Papers Now that we've heard in two debates the Kerry-Edwards case against President Bush, we should look critically at the Democrats' position. Kerry's most important charge is that Bush mishandled the war in Iraq: that it was (and presumably still is) \"the wrong war at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bruce S. Thornton"","block_context":{"text":"Bruce S. Thornton","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/bruce-s-thornton\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5310,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/deconstructing-kerrys-case-against-president-bush-part-two\/","url_meta":{"origin":4587,"position":4},"title":"Deconstructing Kerry’s Case Against President Bush: Part Two","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 21, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce S. Thornton Private Papers The Kerry case against the President's invasion of Iraq is built on four components: the President misled the nation about WMDs and ties to al Qaeda; he failed to plan adequately for the aftermath of combat; he failed to bring our allies on board;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bruce S. Thornton"","block_context":{"text":"Bruce S. Thornton","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/bruce-s-thornton\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4560,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-real-divide-is-online-in-elitist-minds\/","url_meta":{"origin":4587,"position":5},"title":"The Real Divide is Online in Elitist Minds","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 27, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson San Francisco Chronicle Are things really as ghastly as they appear this election year? President Bush is derided as a liar, brain-dead and a coward, not just by fringe groups but by prominent members of the Democratic establishment. 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