The Bush Administration seems to be doing everything it can to lose the war against terror, but I still don’t know if Democrats can win the political battle.

The headlines are bad for Bush:

• Intelligence agencies say the Iraq war has spread terror instead of stopping it.

• Retired military officers bash Rumsfeld for malpractice.

• The military is stretched to the breaking point.

• The Taliban is coming back in Afghanistan.

• Osama is still alive.

But Democrats have a problem. We haven’t decided whether we’re an antiwar party or an anti-terror party.

So Bush has gone back to the old game plan. No, not Karl Rove’s game plan. It’s the same game plan Republicans have used since Nixon in 1972 and Reagan in 1980: Democrats are weaklings who won’t protect America.

If that message sticks, it doesn’t matter how much of a hash Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld make in the Middle East.

Bill Clinton, I think, shows Democrats the way. And maybe inadvertently.

His outburst against Fox and Chris Wallace didn’t interest me because of what everybody else seized on: his temper, the truth he spoke about Fox news or how it might help or hurt Hillary.

No, it was the language he used:

“I tried to kill Osama. I failed, but I tried. And some people didn’t try.”

Nice, simple, clear, strong words.

“Kill Osama.”

“I tried.”

“Some people didn’t try.”

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