“In his first two years as president, George W. Bush set a trap. He pushed through tax cuts so big that they would inevitably force Democrats into a series of no-win arguments during this election year. Democrats could dedicate themselves to undoing the budget damage Bush had caused by favoring tax increases and spending restraint. Or they could ignore the issue of fiscal balance and propose popular programs…

The trap is working marvelously, even if the bad news in Iraq has pushed the budget mess off the front pages. True, competing Democratic factions are so eager to defeat Bush that they are largely holding their tongues. But the party’s deficit hawks and its advocates of new programs are not happy with each other, and both are trying to pull Sen. John Kerry in their direction. Kerry has no choice but to finesse the problem.” —E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post op-ed