What I Want to Know... What Don't We "Get" About the War on Terror?

Following a link from Atrios, I was reading the list of RNC bloggers from the WSJ Online, available here.  There's a profile of each blogger, and here is blogger Roger L. Simon's reply to the final question:

Which presidential candidate do you plan to vote for in November?

Bush. First time ever for a Republican, but, hey, there's a war on and it seems the Democrats haven't grasped that.

Well, I for one don't grok why Simon thinks we don't grasp it.  But I'm fascinated.. because this piece of rhetoric is one I've encountered many, many times whenever I take a spin around the more conservative corners of the web.  Democrats don't "get" the war on terror.  Democrats fail to understand something fundamental to the war on terror.  Democrats aren't serious about fighting terrorism.  

This question was put more eloquently by Kossack 'tlaura' two days ago, when she asked:

What I don't understand is why self-proclaimed open-minded libertarian-Republicans like Carlson and Glenn Reynolds who are dissatisfied with Bush -- and they ought to be; he's not a conservative and on top of that he's a bungler and a fool -- keep playing this ridiculous "Kerry won't fight the war on terror" nonsense.  

There is simply zero proof that Kerry doesn't take the threat of terrorism seriously, nothing he's ever said, not votes he's ever made (despite the lame-ass, totally unconvincing voted-against-weapons arguments Rove has unsuccessfully pushed.)

So why do they think Kerry won't fight the war on terror?  

Is it..

• A piece of pure intellectual dishonesty used as a smokescreen by diehard GOP partisans who will, in fact, support Bush no matter how badly he screws up?
  
• Related to the Huntington thesis of a "clash of civilizations" and the assumption of many on the right that those who do not accept a highly debatable theory about this conflict cannot be capable of defending the nation?
  
• Related to the fact that John Kerry takes the threat of North Korea seriously as well - instead of shrugging his shoulders like Bush - and therefore, because he doesn't ignore other threats, he doesn't "get" Bush's approach?
  
• Bush "gets" the shaky and shadowy connection links the war in Iraq with Al Qaeda because he made it up, but those who believe in facts are nevertheless taken to task because they just don't get it?
  
• Kerry hasn't articulated a grand theory of how to handle the ever-changing mess in Iraq?
  
• Democrats suck at talking like cowboys?

Help me out here, I'm lost.