SUDDENLY KERRY

Finally, Kerry is striking Bush where he's vulnerable — his abject failure to combat terrorism. Although opponents generally keep mum during a political convention, Kerry struck back.

"Today, terrorists have secured havens in Iraq that were not there before, and we have been forced to reach accommodation with those who have repeatedly attacked our troops," he said. "Violence has spread in Iraq, Iran has expanded its influence, and extremism has gained momentum."

This morning, I had thought I would follow up yesterday's entry by composing and blogging an open letter to the Kerry campaign to , imploring them to ask: Where's Osama? But I didn't have to. (Even the alt-weekly New York Press included it as reason No. 996 in its "1,001 Things to Hate About the Convention.")

Kerry ticked off a list of what he sees as Bush's missteps and mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan — and included a reminder that the terrorist leader implicated in the Sept. 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden, remains at large.

"I would have sent the best trained forces in the world to get the No. 1 criminal in the world," he said.

Recent attacks in Israel and Russia, not to mention the recent downing of two airlines and the ongoing debacle in Iraq, erase all doubt that next year's State Department report on global terrorism will show that terrorists have only been emboldened by this administration's errant and failed policies.