You can squall all you like about "free speech," and the "right to criticize," and all the rest. I've been hearing it for months now.

The fact remains is that the sole chance the Baathist forces have to succeed is the Somalia strategy: make the war too politically difficult for the coalition forces, largely the U.S.

And the other fact remains that the constant barrage of criticism of the war, not one bit of it constructive; the constant barrage of bad news while good news is ignored; couldn't play any better into the hands of those who want Iraq returned to tyranny than if the Baathists were actually paying the critics in cash.

"This is wrong. That is bad. This sucks. That blows. Too much money. Declare victory and bail out. Another American dead. Another American dead. Another American dead." Not one of the Left apparently has bugger-all to say that helps anything. Try and get past the fury against Bush for five goddam minutes and look at what you are doing. Try and get past the Vietnam fantasy for five goddam minutes and look at what you are doing. Is the destruction of twenty million people and the wreck of the Middle East really worth winning an election? Or paying Bush back for Florida? And don't try and kid me that this isn't what this is all about. The protests and criticisms would have been going in a lot more directions if it wasn't.

Nobody wants you to shut up, or Cronkite, or the Nine Riders of the Democratic Party, or any of the other Bush-haters you endlessly quote below. But try and get a bit of perspective. Try and realize that you are making things worse. The personal thanks of terrorists to protestors in Australia didn't get the point across. The fact that Saddam drew on the protests as a sign that he didn't need to cooperate didn't get the point across. The impact on morale of our troops, barraged by reports from home only of their failures, doesn't get the point across.

Let me get the point across.

Which person do Osama bin Laden, Saddam and the Baathists in Iraq, North Korea, and all the others leading the worldwide terror movements want to see as President in 2004?

A: George W. Bush

B. Howard Dean

Go ahead, squeal in indignation. But answer the question.