Overshadowed by Iraq
By Judy Woodruff
CNN Washington Bureau
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 CNN's Kelly Wallace, in her "Promises, Promises" series: Iraq.
 CNN's Candy Crowley on John Kerry's tougher talking approach.
 CNN's Tom Foreman on the importance of debates in the election.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iraq has stolen the headlines again.
On Monday, John Kerry delivered perhaps his most articulate speech yet on the subject, laying out a forceful critique of President Bush's Iraq policy.
But with six weeks until the election, Kerry may still be haunted by his past, a history of seeming to vacillate on key issues tied to the war. And Bush's political fate may be intertwined with the future, the state of Iraqi security and Americans abroad.
After weeks of Democrats urging Kerry to be more aggressive, Kerry's hour-long speech at New York University accused the president of "stubborn incompetence," dishonesty and massive failures of judgment.
But CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reported on "Inside Politics" that as soon as Kerry said, "We have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure," Republicans pounced. They noted that when former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said the United States was no safer, Kerry disagreed, saying it was safer.
"He apparently woke up this morning and has now decided, no, we should not have invaded Iraq, after just last month saying he still would have voted for force even knowing everything we know today," Bush said to supporters in New Hampshire Monday. "Incredibly, he now believes our national security would be stronger with Saddam Hussein in power, not in prison," Bush said.
With the war in Iraq under way for the past 18 months, and the American election only six weeks away, why hasn't Kerry explained his position sooner? I asked former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Inside Politics Monday.
"I think that Senator Kerry has been working on explaining that. It hasn't come through," Albright said. "He is making that message very loud and clear."
Recent polls do suggest that the message hasn't come through to voters so far. In a New York Times/CBS poll, 60 percent of voters said they were uneasy about Kerry's ability to handle international crises compared to 32 percent who were confident he could.
The timing of Kerry's speech drew comment from White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett: "On the very week when the new Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi is coming to our country to talk about the very progress we're making, he is disparaging that progress, looking at -- always at -- the dark clouds, not the silver lining, not looking at the fact of how far this country has come in such a short period of time."
At the same time, Bush aides are trying to counter criticism the campaign has received over the weekend from several senior Republicans. CNN's White House Correspondent Dana Bash reported on "Inside Politics" that Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, criticized the president's slow pace of spending on reconstruction in Iraq. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who has been campaigning with the president, suggested that Bush needs to do more to level with the American people about what's happening on the ground.
Bush did acknowledge the difficulties ahead in his speech to the United Nations Tuesday, saying, "We can expect terror attacks to escalate" as elections approach in Afghanistan and Iraq. But he reiterated his optimism and resolve. "Freedom is finding a way.....and we must continue to show our commitment to democracies in those nations," Bush said.
But the political rhetoric about Iraq was abruptly overshadowed Monday by the reality of life on the ground in Baghdad. Islamic militants beheaded American hostage Eugene "Jack" Armstrong and posted a video of the killing on the Internet. The kidnappers said they would kill the other two hostages -- an American and a Briton.
On Tuesday, the Islamic Web site used to announce Armstrong's beheading posted a report that American hostage, Jack Hensley, was killed.
Bush is ahead of Kerry in most polls, but the challenge for the president is whether his campaign can sustain whatever bad news develops on the ground and now, the sharper critique from Kerry.
Judy Woodruff is CNN's prime anchor and senior correspondent. She also anchors "Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics," weekdays at 3:30 pm ET.
