Editors spar over Iraq war; High-profile journalists focus on ideals over politics in debate at Notre Dame

South Bend Tribune
September 23, 2004

Touted as a clash of passions -- not party lines -- Wednesday night's debate between prominent political editors David Corn and Rich Lowry lived up to its billing.

Sparring in front of a packed house in Washington Hall at the University of Notre Dame, the journalists dissected both presidential candidates with equal venom.

The debate, coordinated by Notre Dame's Rock the Vote organization, was the fourth on-campus clash between the two editors this fall. And while each ultimately took the partisan tack -- Democratic for Corn, Washington editor of liberal magazine The Nation, and Republican for Lowry, editor of conservative journal National Review -- their arguments extended beyond backing Democrat John Kerry or Republican George W. Bush on Nov. 2.

"I'm not a hack for the Republican party," Lowry said.

After taking a nearly even show of hands reflecting the audience's party loyalties, Corn promised the same.

"I don't speak for a candidate," he said. "I speak out of the values that I seek to serve." For both men, these values centered on Iraq.

"The war is the Number One issue for the nation," Corn said, adding that Bush -- deliberately or not -- misled Americans into supporting an elective conflict.

"The president said weapons of mass destruction posed a direct and immediate threat," Corn said. "I question the due diligence on (making) these statements ... whether it was intentional deception is debatable, but either way, he blew the call, and for that I believe he deserves to be held accountable."

Lowry countered that without pre-emptive invasion, the United States would have never discovered the truth. "Yes, we know there are no weapons of mass destruction," he said. "But how do we know? Because we invaded the place." He added that Bush deserves credit for adhering to his idealistic foreign policy despite unexpected twists.

"You can't plan for war," Lowry said, suggesting that if Kerry is elected, the United States will "tiptoe towards abandonment."

"Once things go wrong, you do what you can do," he continued. "You need some guts and resolve to see it through."

But guts alone won't suffice, Corn said. "Guts and resolve -- Kerry has shown both," he said. "But he's also shown thoughtfulness."

And while Kerry's nuanced thoughts are often portrayed as flip- flopping in a "bumper sticker culture," Corn said the Democrat's caution was actually a positive.

"It's not just that you act -- it's that you act well," Corn said. "You can't be reckless with lives at stake."

Lowry maintained that Kerry's positions shifted on politics, not patience.

"John Kerry has literally been on every side of this issue, and it's because he cannot remain steadfast in the face of political pressure," Lowry said. "That is not thoughtfulness, that is craven."