Wishy-washy is not an option

In this essay, Orson Scott Card has an excellent take on the challenges facing President Bush in the real world as opposed to the make-believe land of John Kerry.

In particular he challenges John Edwards assertion there is a "mess" in Iraq and that alleged "mess" is the fault of the President and the Vice-president. While you should read the whole thing, here is a good part:

What is Edwards promising us? That Kerry will always make the right choice?

Well, actually, Kerry almost certainly will make the right decision on every issue. After all, if you take every possible position on every question, one of them is bound to be right.

The trouble is that the real President can't vacillate. He can't send troops in and at the same time not send them. He can't go with one plan and at the same time go with another. The President has to commit, and then work with the consequences.

Senator Kerry has never had to do that. Neither has Senator Edwards.
It's easy to say, "I would have done it better."

But in all their attack rhetoric, have you ever heard them say exactly what they would have done differently?

Consequence free behavior may be viable for a couple of light weight senators, but people who exercise executive power always have to accept the consequences of the decisions they make.

Kerry's apparent inability to even accept responsibility for simple things like falling down while skiing ("it's not my fault, I got knocked down") or to admit his positions have changed ("I have had the same position all along on Iraq...") do not bode well for his prospective performance as an executive.

Those of us who have ever worked for a boss who can never admit to making a mistake know what a special form of hell that is.