Howard Dean's public surrender to scary rage probably disqualifies him from ever having his finger on the nuclear trigger, in the minds of most Americans. We want our Commander—in—Chief to be judicious in the application of force in time of crisis. Those who readily give—in to their inner demons under pressure are downright scary to imagine in the Oval Office. It is hard to imagine how Dean will recover plausibility as a Presidential contender. Paul Mirengoff, writing on the superb Powerline website, argues that another Democratic candidate, most notably front—running Kerry, can readily inherit the mantle of opposition to the war in Iraq, even if not able to claim to have been opposed to it 'right from the start.' In his analysis, now that the economy is growing at a healthy clip, a Democrat's only chance to win rests on the possibility of continued bad news from Iraq, such as escalating American and allied casualties: The Democrats have probably...(Read Full Post)