The Washington Post and Los Angeles Daily News editorial endorsements of Kerry, alone, demonstrate why liberals must never be entrusted with our national security.

Both papers, amazingly, concede that the War on Terror and national security are the most important issues the next president will have to confront. Both admit that Kerry has been wishy-washy on these subjects. But both, ultimately, conclude that Kerry is the better choice, essentially, because he promises to do better. In other words, we should base our decision on some of Kerry's words, not his other words or actions to the contrary.

Precisely what does Kerry promise to do so differently from President Bush? To restore unity at home and heal our alliances abroad, of course. Now don't you feel better?

Note the liberal disconnect here. These papers have the presence of mind to recognize that our national security is the paramount issue. But they have the profound obscurity of mind to believe that sweet-talking corrupt "allies" is the panacea for the War on Terror.

Here the Post acknowledges the importance of our national security: "None of these issues would bring us to vote for Mr. Kerry if he were less likely than Mr. Bush to keep the nation safe. But we believe the challenger is well equipped to guide the country in a time of danger."

Why do they believe that? Certainly not for these reasons: "We have been dismayed most of all by Mr. Kerry's zigzags on Iraq, such as his swervings on whether Saddam Hussein presented a threat. As Mr. Bush charges, Mr. Kerry's description of the war as a "diversion" does not inspire confidence in his determination to see it through." And certainly not because "he wrongly opposed the first Persian Gulf War." And certainly not because they ask, "but is he decisive enough?"

Rather, the Post is reassured because "Kerry has repeatedly pledged not to cut and run from Iraq." And, "he pledges both to fight in Iraq and to reach out to allies, to hunt down terrorists, and to engage without arrogance the Islamic world."

Again, trust Kerry's empty promises, though they are manifestly contrary to his record and to other statements he has made.

The Los Angeles Daily News, after likewise admitting that our national security is the most important issue, unpersuasively endorses Kerry because he is "the candidate best able" "to wage an effective war on terrorism" by "restor(ing) national unity and repair(ing) our damaged international alliances."

Why is he better able than Bush to fight the War on Terror? Because he "promises to do it smarter." He promises? Even they don't seem to believe their own words, as they go on to observe, "Whether (Kerry) can live up to those promises remains to be seen, and his own contradictory comments about the war and a lackluster 20-year career in the Senate raise some fair doubts." Continued...