For all this criticism of Bush going it alone, the Iraq resolution does give him that right, stating: "The president is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to 1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and 2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq." It is essentially, as Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., described it, "a blank check."

That Edwards and Kerry have taken this "yes, but" position actually has impressed McInturff -- for political, if not strategic, reasons. "It looks to me like those candidates are trying to deal with this tension," he said. More unequivocal war supporters, "Gephardt and Lieberman could have very difficult trouble" in the primaries.

Which may be part of the reason why, in their Friday speeches to the DNC, Lieberman slammed Bush's "go-it-alone" foreign policy and Gephardt called it "bullying."

A more charitable view of all this is that Democrats are conflicted just like the people they represent. "My reading of the polls is that a majority of Americans now think he ought to disarm or be disarmed," says Ickes. "They would like to have it be done multilaterally. But I think if push comes to shove they're prepared to have us go it alone. And I think that's where damn near every candidate is."

Ickes may have a point. When the questions are more nuanced and get into the difficult gray areas of foreign policy, it can be the Republican voters who can seem out of step. A Los Angeles Times poll conducted Feb. 7 and 8 indicated that, when asked if "the United States should take military action against Iraq only if that military action has the support of the United Nations Security Council," 62 percent of those polled in general agreed and 37 percent disagreed. Broken down, 78 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Independents agreed that the U.S. should take military action only with U.N. backing, with 22 percent of Democrats and 35 percent of Independents disagreeing. Conversely, 32 percent of Republicans said yes to the war only with U.N. support while 65 percent said no to that notion.

With all these devilish details, others see a certain wisdom -- both political and in terms of policy -- in not being locked down in full support or full opposition. "Conflict in Iraq and the issue of whether or not to use force in Iraq is an unfolding situation, a moving target," says Mike Feldman, a former advisor to Vice President Al Gore. "As a U.S. senator or announced presidential candidate, you're constantly evaluating a changing set of circumstances, and I don't think it's prudent to be rigid since events are unfolding every step of the way."

Former Gore campaign manager Donna Brazile also says that Dean's comparatively clear position on the war is "why [he] has so much buzz, because he can say that he doesn't speak in Washington-speak, he doesn't speak out of both sides of his mouth." That said, she adds, "It's a mistake for Democrats to just speak to primary audiences." Kerry and Edwards will be able to "come right back at Dean and say he has no experience with these issues and there's a reason they have what I would call an ambiguous position on Iraq."

A senior advisor to a Democratic rival of Kerry and Edwards doubts that polling has had any effect on their war messages, but believes that the phenomenon comes from other political pressures. "I think that the ambivalent positions these guys have on Iraq is more a reaction to pressure from activists that any polling information or data," the advisor says. "Many of the activists are antiwar and that's causing people to slightly change their rhetoric depending on the audience." That will change as the campaign progresses and a wider, "more representative" swath of Democrats starts paying attention, but "the activists who tend to be the most engaged at this point tend to be the most liberal. So those campaigns are reacting to the pressure."

But there's also a distinct pressure among Democratic funders to go the other way. A disproportionate percentage of the Democratic Party's individual donor base is made up of two groups: trial lawyers and Jews. And if Jewish American voters are accurately represented by the pro-Israel lobbying groups in Washington, many seem to support the war. "I can't find anybody who's very active in the pro-Israel community who isn't very supportive of the war," says Cook. "The pro-Israel community is very, very supportive of this war. They see Saddam Hussein as a real and immediate threat to Israel," Cook says. "So the Democratic candidates, who have dovish tendencies to begin with, are stuck between an important antiwar constituency in the party and an equally important part that's pro-war." Thus, Cook says, many are "trying to fudge it down the middle."

Some of these Jews are thinking of Israel's security, some are hawkish in general. This same community, after all, supported U.S. military involvement in the Balkans in defense of Bosnian Muslims.

There is anecdotal evidence, however, that Jews are softening in their support of the war. Edwards has spoken of a recent fundraiser held on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where he was urged to allow the inspections more time to work.

And one Jewish Democratic member of Congress tells Salon that while early on "in order to appeal to some of the more conservative Jewish donors it was almost a prerequisite to be supportive of the president on Israel -- and by extension Iraq -- that may seem less and less like the smart play." This member, who supported the Iraq resolution, observed that "Jewish Democratic activists seem to be losing their stomach for this" because of the bad economy and weeks of indecision.

The only way that the Democrats seem to be trying to score points while sidestepping Iraq is by taking on the president on the war on terror, specifically on homeland security matters. "It is indefensible that the Bush administration has not made funding for first responders its top priority," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said to the DNC meeting. "Instead, it advised Americans to buy duct tape, plastic sheeting and bottled water."

"Duct tape" was indeed the punch line of the meeting. And many candidates cited the need to continue effectively fighting the war on terror as a reason to oppose military action against Iraq. Bush "has not given us a report on why he has not delivered bin Laden," Sharpton said. "I don't understand why our intelligence can tape conversations in Baghdad but can't find a man hiding in a cave in Afghanistan." He described bin Laden as "a man who comes out every two months with a new video. Bin Laden now has more videos than any rock star in Hollywood."

Criticizing the president on homeland security issues could prove effective. Firefighters are complaining that the White House and Congress didn't provide enough funding for their needs in a recent "first responders" bill, an issue that could be used against the president were there to be another terrorist attack. Edwards mentioned in his remarks that "after lobbying by chemical companies, the president canceled plans to improve security at chemical plants."

"There are increasing questions about the prosecution of the war on terrorism, which in fact is a clear and present danger to the United States," Ickes says, noting that the threat Iraq poses is more subject to debate. "I think you're seeing increasing questions about how Bush is handling the war on terrorism."

"The tough thing about war is that it really is hard to be political, and that's sort of the box the Democrats are in," says a White House advisor. "It's very difficult to do anything but take a 'yeah, but' position."

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