Top Democrats advising the Kerry campaign are scratching their heads raw this week, trying to figure out why Senator Kerry – even with solid debate performances under his belt and continuing violence in Iraq – still is still having such a hard time convincing voters he would be a more effective commander in chief than President Bush. But the answer is actually fairly simple. Mr. Kerry – like all doves – is unpersuasive on national security issues because he doesn’t realize certain basic truths that have guided American policy for decades. These are:

(1) The world is a dangerous place, filled with deadly people. Not just people who are misunderstood. Not just people who are poor. Not just people who have different “values.” After 3,000 of our fellow citizens were incinerated on September 11, 2001, by Islamist mass murderers, Mr. Kerry can still tell the New York Times Magazine this week, “We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they’re a nuisance.” How amazingly irresponsible and stunningly stupid. Deadly people with the means and commitment to inflict large casualties on American citizens will never just be nuisances. Mr. Bush knows this.The American people know it. American liberals don’t.

(2) Most nations in the world look out for themselves. We cringe at the idea of a “global test” because we know who’s going to be grading the test. We know the anti-Americanism that exists around the world. We know the incompetence and corruption that dominates the United Nations. We know that leaders like President Chirac and Chancellor Schroeder are determined to take any opportunity to hinder America. We know that international news organizations, from the BBC to Al Jazeera, are doing everything they can to whip up even more hostility toward this country. In short, we know that you would have a better chance at a fair hearing in an Olympic figure-skating competition than you would of getting a fair grade on a “global test.” Mr. Bush knows this. The American people know this. American liberals don’t.

(3) America is not the world’s problem – America is the world’s solution. Tying down America – through international treaties like Kyoto or the International Criminal Court, or through imposing a “global test” on our ability to respond to problems – will not make the world safer. It will make the world less safe. Limiting American power will not make the world better. It will lead to more pain, more death, more suffering. America is the only great nation in the world whose people are willing to make real sacrifices of blood and treasure for world peace. If we don’t do it, no one will. Mr. Bush knows this. The American people know it. American liberals don’t.

American liberals are making the same mistake in the war on terror that they made during the Cold War. They trust anti-American voices around the world more than they trust the American people. During the second debate, Mr. Kerry was still touting U.N. sanctions as a viable way to contain Saddam Hussein, despite everything we have already learned about the oil-for-food pay-offs to foreign interests in both France and Russia.

Liberals believe that our responsibilities can be shoved onto the backs of other countries that have made it abundantly clear they have no intention of helping us. Although even Mr. Kerry had to admit last week that France and Germany will not send troops to Iraq even if he wins on November 2. They believe in a moral equivalence between America and its adversaries.

They were wrong in the 1980s, and they are wrong today. That is why Mr. Kerry cannot articulate a credible plan to win the war on terrorism. That is why Senator Edwards looked and sounded so vague during his debate. Until American liberals overcome this fear of the American people – until they learn to trust us more than they trust their friends in Europe – they will flip, flop, and flounder in their effort to take back the White House.

Ms. Ingraham is a nationally syndicated radio host with Talk Radio Network and author of “Shut Up & Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics and the U.N. Are Subverting America.”