As the nation verges on war with Iraq, Democrats seeking the White House are mapping their own battle plans, intending to keep up their criticism of President Bush even after the fighting starts.
While anticipating a pause in partisan hostilities, campaign strategists said it will likely be a brief one, undertaken more out of respect for America's troops and the public's sense of patriotism than any deference toward the president. Already, the Democratic candidates are trying to turn the war debate into a broader discussion of domestic security and the effects the use of force might have on a lagging economy and the soaring federal budget deficit.
"Obviously we're going to be sensitive to appropriateness and national mood," said Jim Jordan, campaign manager for presidential hopeful John F. Kerry, the U.S. senator from Massachusetts. "You'll see for a certain amount of time an absence of criticism of the commander in chief.
"But," Jordan went on, "just as it became incumbent for Democrats to offer observations and even criticism of the administration post-9/11, that will happen again here, I'm sure."
Much, of course, will depend on how the war goes -- if war breaks out -- how long it lasts, how many casualties are incurred and how long and difficult any U.S. occupation of Iraq turns out to be. A strategist for one presidential contender, who also serves in Congress, said events were being scheduled with an eye toward canceling them on a moment's notice, depending on world events.
"What we're looking at is the classic 'fluid situation,' " agreed Rick Ridder, who is running the campaign of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.
The candidates themselves declined to discuss how the outbreak of war might affect their campaigns. But there are several reasons why any letup in the presidential race is likely to be short-lived, analysts and party strategists said.
One is the calendar, moving inexorably toward the first contest, now less than 11 months away in Iowa. "Most of what a candidate would be doing in that period anyway, raising money and talking to activists ... will be ongoing, war or not," said Steve Elmendorf, a strategist for Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri.
Another reason is the high degree of public ambivalence about the war, which makes it seem less risky to challenge Bush at a time when the public typically rallies around the president.
