Kerry to Iraq

In an e-mail to supporters last week John Kerry mentions that he's planning a trip to Iraq next month "to see the situation firsthand".

If this is part of his permanent campaign, good. However, I can't help but wonder if it might have done more good if he had pledged to do that during the campaign. Like when Eisenhower pledged to go to Korea during the 1952 campaign. I'm sure the right-wingers would have found a way to spin even that into a negative, claiming that Kerry would be exploiting the troops for political gain, even though Bush does that every time he gets dressed up to appear before crowds of troops who have been ordered to be there.

It will be interesting to see how this trip plays out when it happens.