‘ ‘ ‘ The keystone of the Republican Party’s national strategy over the past few decades has… ‘ ‘ ‘ The keystone of the Republican Party’s national strategy over the past few decades has been the carefully cultivated public impression that Democrats are ‘weak on defense.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ From pictures of Michael Dukakis looking ridiculous in a battle tank to the scurrilous attacks against Sen. John Kerry’s military record, the Republican media machine has largely succeeded in painting Democrats as unable to protect our nation. ‘ ‘ ‘ These attacks, when perpetrated by the right wing, are so commonplace as not to be noticed in today’s political discourse. However, in the course of the last week, the Democratic president-elect has actively undermined his own and his party’s defense credentials. ‘ ‘ ‘ By announcing the retention of Robert Gates as secretary of defense, Barack Obama has essentially capitulated to Republican propaganda. ‘ ‘ ‘ To campaign against the policies, opinions and culture of the Defense Department and then retain Gates as its director in his new cabinet is not only inexplicable ‘mdash; it’s an abomination. ‘ ‘ ‘ Put simply, change and continuity are two different things, and although Obama campaigned on the former, he appears to be accomplishing the latter. ‘ ‘ ‘ The only reason that Obama was a viable candidate in the first place was his clear and early opposition to the war in Iraq. Obama would still be the junior senator from Illinois if he hadn’t made opposition to the war the central platform in his presidential candidacy. ‘ ‘ ‘ With the kind of mandate Obama won in November, he should be working to enact that one clear platform of his candidacy and to reverse the Republican talking point that Democrats are weak on defense. ‘ ‘ ‘ This isn’t just about winning the propaganda war between the two parties. ‘ ‘ ‘ The public perception that hawkish Republicans better serve the defense of this nation than their Democratic colleagues has justified too many disastrous foreign escapades. ‘ ‘ ‘ Simply think back to 2002 and the debate leading up to the war in Iraq, when Democratic opponents of the war were publicly ridiculed and their commitment to their country’s security was mocked. ‘ ‘ ‘ Facing the pressure of a midterm election and a masterfully executed propaganda campaign mounted by the right, Democrats capitulated and authorized the use of force against Iraq. ‘ ‘ ‘ But six years later, the objections raised by Democrats in the run-up to the war have proven correct. The Iraqi people did not greet us as liberators, the operation did not take six months, and Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction. ‘ ‘ ‘ Obama had a chance to articulate this message clearly when he chose his national security team. The decision to nominate antiwar Democrats to key cabinet positions such as Defense and State would have served as a clear rebuttal to the Republican machine and its allies in the Pentagon who got us where we are today. ‘ ‘ ‘ Regrettably, Obama chose to retain in his cabinet a man who envisions a long-term presence for American combat forces in Iraq. ‘ ‘ ‘ The question now is whether Obama will move forward to deliver on his campaign promise to extricate U.S. forces from Iraq swiftly. His choice of Gates seems to signal that he would not be moving in this direction. ‘ ‘ ‘ This is a huge political and ideological setback for both the American left and the Democratic Party. ‘ ‘ ‘ A party that needed to be unified in order to govern this nation effectively during economic and foreign crises will now face divisions over what should have been one of Obama’s simpler choices. ‘ ‘ ‘ The character and direction of Obama’s presidency is being revealed in the individuals he is choosing to lead key government departments. ‘ ‘ ‘ Certainly, recreating the Clinton administration with just a tinge of Bush conservatism is not what the American people elected Obama to do. ‘ ‘ ‘ Gates is but one indicator that the Obama we thought we knew during the election will not be moving into the White House in January. E-mail Giles at [email protected].