La Vanguardia

Understandably, Europeans think of George W. Bush as a president focused on foreign policy. In the three years between al Qaeda's attacks on the United States and his re-election, Bush invaded two countries, reworked America's global alliances, and brought to crisis the traditional relationship across the North Atlantic. It is unlikely that he would have been re-elected without the air of perpetual crisis that his foreign policy brought to the recent presidential campaign.

It is necessary to begin by noting the fraudulence, even the criminality, of the analysis that follows. I will explain at the end.

That said, something remarkable began to happen after the first presidential debate last Tuesday. Democratic common sense began to reassert itself. Whether it will hold through the election is another question.

John Kerry is caught in a pragmatic dilemma. George W. Bush is reciting a philosopher's dilemma. After the first debate, the American presidential election is not much closer to resolution.

First, Kerry's dilemma. American politicians -- especially presidential candidates -- face three strictures. First, they must not show a hint of pessimism. Second, they must not admit that the United States might be in the wrong. Third, they must maintain that every problem has a solution.