The Washington Post's Bob Woodward has published a list of questions that he had proposed as part of an interview with the Democrat presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry.

At the end of last year, during 3 1/2 hours of interviews over two days, I asked President Bush hundreds of detailed questions about his actions and decisions during the 16-month run-up to the war in Iraq. His answers were published in my book "Plan of Attack." Beginning on June 16, I had discussions and meetings with Sen. John Kerry's senior foreign policy, communications and political advisers about interviewing the senator to find out how he might have acted on Iraq -- to ask him what he would have done at certain key points. Senior Kerry advisers initially seemed positive about such an interview. One aide told me, "The short answer is yes, it's going to happen."

In August, I was talking with Kerry's scheduler about possible dates. On Sept. 1, Kerry began his intense criticism of Bush's decisions in the Iraq war, saying "I would've done almost everything differently." A few days later, I provided the Kerry campaign with a list of 22 possible questions based entirely on Bush's actions leading up to the war and how Kerry might have responded in the same situations. The senator and his campaign have since decided not to do the interview, though his advisers say Kerry would have strong and compelling answers.

These aren't "gotcha" questions from Woodward, they're detailed, wonkish questions that a Senator who prides himself on his nuance should be eager to answer.

John Kerry has a "plan" and "strong and compelling answers," but he doesn't want you to hear them. The question is: Why? The answer is contained in the questions posed by Beldar in the post below. Honest answers from Sen. Kerry would reveal him to be an uber-dove, averse to any use of American power that is not blessed by the United Nations (and even then, probably still averse).