MICHAEL PHILIPS WRITES:

And you thought John Edwards’s smile was bright. Milton Glaser, designer of the highly successful “I (Heart) NY” campaign, is hoping to make a political statement when the GOP hits the Big Apple in late August. At lightupthesky.org he is urging the Anyone-but-Bush crowd on August 30 to “gather informally all over the city with candles, flashlights and plastic wands to silently express our sorrow over the innocent deaths the war has caused.”

Ah, a sunny little demonstration indeed. But to what end exactly? As near as anyone can tell, Mr. Kerry’s position on Iraq is the about same as Mr. Bush’s with the implicit promise that he can somehow persuade the French to participate. For that to happen, the plastic wands will have to have magical qualities.

The Nation devoted a page in a recent issue to Mr. Glaser’s light-up-the-sky plan. The irony of course is that it was The Nation’s bright idea to try to chase out of the presidential race the only high-profile antiwar candidate. Its editors wrote an open letter to independent candidate Ralph Nader back in February urging him not to run. They must be pleased that the consumer-rights advocate may get on the ballot in only a handful of states due to maneuvering by Democrats in key states. Seen in this light, the left’s behavior makes the August 30 gathering sound a bit too precious. Here’s hoping the cloud of hypocrisy doesn’t darken their spirits.

Indeed.