Democrats see favorable 9/11 report

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The national commission looking into the September 11 terrorist attacks may see itself as nonpartisan, but Democratic officials and strategists say the panel's report, due out just before their party's July convention, can only hurt President Bush and help John Kerry.

"The report will be a perfect introduction to the Democratic convention on July 26," said Bob Mulholland, the California Democratic Party spokesman who says the commission's inquiry will be a political bonanza for the Democrats and Mr. Kerry's presidential campaign.

"If you had to look at its potential political impact, it will be significant. Democrats all across America will be reinforced by this report on why they don't like Bush. I don't think anything in it will bear the headline that 'Bush bears no responsibility for what happened.' That's just not going to happen. I think it will hurt Bush," Mr. Mulholland said.

Mr. Mulholland is one of the Democrats' most partisan pit bulls, known for his blistering broadsides against Republicans. But his pointed political prediction is shared by many Democrats who see the bipartisan, 10-member commission's investigation largely in political terms and how much damage it can inflict on Mr. Bush's re-election campaign.

But a key member of the commission, former Sen. Bob Kerrey, Nebraska Democrat, sought to disabuse hopeful Democrats of that notion yesterday.

"I think they will be disappointed in that regard. I don't think it will be a political document," he said in a telephone interview with The Washington Times. "Judging from the way the commission has worked thus far, my experience is that it is likely to be very bipartisan in its conclusion. At least, I'm hopeful it will be bipartisan.

"If you are asking is this going to be a document that will be terribly damaging to the president, I think the likelihood of that is not good," he said.

However, the former lawmaker, who is now president of the New School University in New York, also delivered a warning to the administration about the way it has been responding to the commission's work.

"If the White House continues to make political mistakes, it's possible the commission could have a negative impact," he said.