European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 14, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                George f. Will nation needs a serious democratic candidacy All eyes in Washington arc on the shattered soldering infrastructure the twisted pile of blasted Hopes. Iraq no the democratic party. Last aug. 1, which now seems Light years away Bush was  the tar baby of the budget negotiations. He had jettisoned the one principle that gave him a clearly defined political profile a a no new  then came aug. 2 and the great clarify ice Saddam Hussein. Suddenly Bush possessed what he had lacked a a Clear purpose and convincing passion. The almost party line vote on authorizing the use of Force has done to the democratic party what it can least afford attention is now focused on its National Security record. And that vote has done for the Republican party especially As led by Bush what it most needs for its most cherished goal. That goal is not to win the presidency republicans assume that but to win elsewhere particularly in congressional races. For that it needs a Strong single theme of the sort an ideological Leader like Ronald Reagan provided. The War May have provided it. The democratic vote against Force was not a defining moment but a reinforcing moment for the party deepening the already deep Public perception of the party As Semi pacifist. That perception was fixed 19 years ago by the nomination of George Mcgovern. To Many americans the january vote against Force was part of a democratic pattern extending from me governs Campaign Promise to slash the defense budget by 30 percent to Carters astonishment at the soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Mondale a denunciation of the liberation of Grenada to Dukakis attempt to expunge his party a record and his own by Riding in a  have been dealt a Strong hand but they could play their cards too crudely. It is one thing to say that the democratic party is unrealistic. It is another to say it is unpatriotic. So far Republican rhetoric is Tough but acceptable. Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas chairman of the National Republican senatorial Campaign committee says a democrats voted to position themselves to the left of the United  Newt Gingrich of Georgia House Republican whip who is urging local Republican organizations to recruit desert storm veterans to run a against democratic incumbents says one party just won a War and As for the other party a the last time it was in Power it  get eight helicopters across the  a. A a a a a a a a a a a a a a Quot a Wiio should March into the Teeth of such withering fire Only a Democrat who voted to support the use of Force. J for some democrats a the names Tennessee sen. Algore Arkansas gov. Bill Clinton and. Oklahoma rep. Dave Mccurdy come to mind a 1992 could be a win win situation. Such a Democrat might win. Strang Ellen Goodman or things have happened. Not often but if the banking crisis aborts the recovery this lira of Good feelings will be Brief. Besides if a Young Democrat gets blown away by Bush so what he is not expected to win. And by going around the track he will hone his skills Sharpen his. Message and make friends for the next time. It took George Bush two times around the track to win and Ronald Reagan 2l times counting his 1968 Effort. A. History does not encourage anyone now serving in Congress or a statehouse. Before Dukakis did it. Neb son Rockefeller was the last sitting governor to mount even a sem serious Campaign for president. Rockefeller did not even get nominated. The most recent sitting member of Congress to receive his party s nomination was Mcgovern in 1972. Before him there was  in 1964. The last time a sitting member of Congress was elected was Kennedy eight elections ago. Before that Harding in 1920 and Garfield in 1880. But the nation needs a serious democratic Candi Dacy. In 1984, Reagan coasted to a 49-state sweep while saying a it is morning in  in 1988, flags and furloughs were sufficient to reduce the election to a referendum on the political culture of Dukakis Massachusetts democratic party. If the democratic Challenge in 1992 is perfunctory and without relevance to the future a if it is too weak to influence the Content of the Bush Campaign a we will have the third consecutive Campaign without a Clear argument. That would mean that by 1996 the country would have gone 16 years a almost a generation a without the clarifying conversation of a serious presidential  if that happens the tone of american politics will join the democratic party As a War casualty. 0 Washington Post writers group the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states  this War be perceived As Good and easy when the War began the Young teacher had worried about the fear she saw in the faces of her third graders. We had. Talked then about How and How much to reassure children. Her desire to protect them had struggled with her desire to. Acknowledge that War was indeed fearsome. What should children know about War she had wondered and How should they know it but when the teacher called Back on Victory Day it was with a different report from the classroom and playground. She was worried now about the cheerfulness of her Young charges. The ease of War had erased their anxiety. The glory of War had trumped its terror. As the International Good Guys trounced the bad Guys As , her children played scuds and patriots. Gradually her own vast sense of Relief at the end of the killing had developed an Edge. What had the children Learned about War and is it what they should know 1 listened to this teacher and to her restraint in the Middle of a National Celebration. I had no answer for the questions that she raised. But her reservations resonate when i think about adults As Well As children what will All of us learn about War and is it what we should know like the teacher i was among those who believed we should Stop Short of fighting. For most americans the passion us fight depended on the number of casualties they imagined. I imagined them by the tens of thousands. Yet once it began most of us who questioned the War were left with one shared wish that it be Short and victorious that our Soldier sons daughters mothers and fathers come through it safely. Well we got w hat we wished  its 43 Days there were More americans killed in the plane collision in los Angeles than in the collision in the persian Gulf. Our military performed and so did its hardware. We stayed on the right Side of that elusive line that separates moral from immoral behaviour in War. We beat Saddam rescued Kuwait. And Best of All we did it quickly. Yet despite the vast unifying sense of Relief at the body bags that will come Home empty there is still a wound. An unexpected unrelenting worry about the meaning of an a a easy win Vietnam with All its horror taught us about the sweaty terrifying brutality of War. Will the Gulf War teach us about a Swift surgical Antiseptic strike Vietnam taught us about the terrible toll of War without Victory. Will the Gulf War teach us about the glories of Victory with Only a a collateral carnage and Vietnam taught us to be reluctant about getting into another faraway War. What message will come from the Gulf done to be afraid on a Day the speeches were also aimed at a Long Domestic debate. The victorious ends will surely be used to justify the peacetime Means the military budget and buildup of the 1980s, which came at the Cost of Bridges and schools and children. Dick Cheney the Secretary of defense said with i told you so Delight that during the Reagan years we were a buying More than $600  he will surely ask for More. Which of our leaders a those w to bask in being a a rights about this War or those who worry about being a a wrong a will say no to storming Norman Colin Powell and their commander in chief americans who measure National strength in the health of our families and our Economy Are stilled by the martial Celebration. So Are those who count the lost souls on the City streets As Well As the cheering souls in the kuwaiti streets. For a time their words will be Damp blankets under a Flag strewn sky. Neither the teacher nor i would Trade Victory for defeat or wish a single More a casualty. We got out of this without chemical warfare without nuclear holocaust without Domestic devastation a by   r Teeth. Still i understand Why she worries about 8-year-Olds who have know n Only a Good Little War. If this is How they How we will understand War Good and Little. Last week at recess this woman stopped a fight on the playground with her Normal routine admonition a this is not the Way we solve  on the faces of her children there w As a look of i Elief Lei the Boston Globe