In his speech before Congress, Allawi chronicled progress in quelling the terrorist insurrection and laying the groundwork for free elections. Most -- 14 to 15 -- of the 18 Iraqi provinces are stabilized. Najaf and Kufa are in better shape. Secretary of State Colin Powell has made it clear that the U.S. military will soon mop up in Ramadi and Samarra, before tackling Fallujah. Sen. Kerry apparently doubts the U.S. military, but they will not let us down.

 According to Iraq the Model, an Iraq-based blog, there's no bad news coming out of Duhok, Samawa, Diwanya, Kerbela, Irbil, Ammarah, Kut, Hilla, Rawa, Haditha, Ana, Rutba and Heet. The Kurds enthusiastically embrace the election outlook up north. Al-Sistani is a strong supporter of elections in the Shia south. Allawi and other observers also confirm that oil pipelines are being repaired, homes are being rebuilt, hospitals are working and millions of kids are back in school.

 Defeatism is the hallmark of the Kerry policy, so you won't hear the candidate mention any of this. Instead, he'll whine about internationalizing the war, while neglecting to mention that U.N. Resolution 1546, which passed in June, endorsed the Iraqi interim government and pledged support for the upcoming elections. The G-8, the European Union and NATO have also issued formal statements of support.

 Problems in Iraq? Absolutely. A quagmire? Absolutely not. Allawi a strong ally? Definitely. "But a puppet of the United States, (where) you can almost see the hand underneath the shirt today moving the lips," as top Kerry advisor Joe Lockhart put it? Nonsense. Pure partisan political pap. And the solutions Kerry is putting forward -- training Iraqi security forces, rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure, holding elections in January, bringing in more allies -- are already being undertaken by the Bush administration.

 This is World War IV, as Norman Podhoretz recently put it. Bush understands this. Kerry does not. In essence, it's a vision thing -- a key difference that will surface in Thursday's debate. Bush's vision is to use American power to promote democracy and freedom in a vital part of the world that has become unimaginably dangerous. Bush's vision is also one of optimism, of America's ability to succeed in carrying out a humanitarian operation that will make the world a better place and leave America more safe and secure.

 Kerry has no such vision. He's a pessimist and a defeatist, whose campaign is doomed to failure.