Gephardt - Wrong on WMDs but better than Bush

Gephardt assailed the administration's "chest thumping unilateralism" in Iraq in a speech to the Bar Association of San Francisco. The Missouri congressman accused the administration of weakening diplomatic alliances and squandering global goodwill following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"Foreign policy isn't a John Wayne movie, where we catch the bad guys, hoist a few cold ones and then everything fades to black. No matter the surge of momentary machismo - as gratifying as it may be for some - it is shortsighted and wrong to simply go it alone."

Gephardt, the former House Democratic leader, reiterated his support for a congressional resolution that authorized the administration to go to war, saying he continued to believe Saddam had weapons of mass destruction or was on his way to building them. But, Gephardt said, Bush's "utter disregard for diplomacy" and lack of a cohesive postwar plan left the United States isolated and vulnerable in an increasingly chaotic, lawless landscape.

Support for Gephardt, long considered one of the Democrats' strongest candidates in the primary field, has slipped in recent weeks.