In 1942-43, there was a raging debate between the Western Allies about a Cross-Channel invasion. FDR wanted to attempt one as soon as was practicable, while Churchill wanted to nibble around the edges of the Nazi empire while fomenting resistance activities w/i that empire. Since the US was contributing the sizable majority of the manpower and materiel, FDR's viewpoint ultimately won out.
After weeks of nibbling around the edges of the GOP empire, Kerry finally attempted his Cross-Channel invasion yesterday. His NYU speech was the political equivalent of storming Pointe du Hoc. He directly confronted the PNAC crowd at their position of perceived strength. He seized the initiative on the most important issue of this campaign.
I wish that he had done it earlier, and I don't agree w/ all of his policy prescriptions. Given the stakes of this election, those differences do not matter. Kerry finally adopted the FDR approach yesterday, and it can be anticipated that he will continue to adopt it in the coming weeks. His speech yesterday, accordingly, may prove to be as decisive to this campaign as the Normandy invasion was to the ETO in World War II.