Prime Minister Allawi came to Washington yesterday and delivered to Congress, to America, and to the world a remarkable speech. He thanked America for the sacrifices it made in liberating Iraq. He spoke of the 300,000 found in mass graves there. He vowed that elections will take place on time. Later, in an appearance with President Bush at the Rose Garden, he said, “Let me be absolutely clear that elections will occur in Iraq on time in January, because Iraqis want election on time. In 15 out of 18 Iraqi provinces, the security situation is good for elections to be held tomorrow.”

For all this, the Democratic candidate for president, Senator Kerry, had only scorn. He released a television commercial calling Iraq a “mess.” He made a comment suggesting that the timeline for elections is unrealistic. He criticized Mr. Bush for not hanging around longer at the United Nations to curry favor with the French and Kofi Annan. Mr. Kerry’s spokesman, Joe Lockhart, denounced Mr. Bush’s description of Iraq as “unhinged from reality.”

What a disgraceful performance. The fact is that the one who seems unhinged from reality at the moment was Mr. Kerry. The Democrat used this week for a speech announcing that in retrospect he opposed the war.

It seems all the more callous in light of Mr. Allawi’s remarks yesterday about 300,000 in mass graves and about what the Iraqi leader called “the global battle to live in freedom.” Mr. Kerry’s scorn for Mr. Allawi’s heartfelt thank you to America will translate as disrespect for the American war dead whose sacrifice Mr. Allawi said would not be in vain.