Reply #73: Americans care most about jobs, healthcare and the economy. [View All]

[AP]

I don't see how putting those issues on the back burner really helps democrats.

To win an election you have to convince the public that the issues you're strongest on are the most important issues. Democrats' strongest issues are carring about money flowing down to the people through good jobs, a decent economy, and healthcare that doesn't suck money out of your pocket and years off your life.

That's what happened this year. In the last ten days of the election, Bush convinced voters that the most important issue was war and John Kerry might not have been able to put enough on the table to convince people that wealth flowing down to the people was the most important issue.

Yes, Democrats need to convince voters that they're not weak on national security (which is the way 2/3rds of voters irrationally feel about Democrats. But it took 100 years to convince Americans that the Democratic philosophy about the economy was the best philosophy and I don't think they're going be able to do 100 years worth of work on national security in two years with Clark.

And I don't think there are long enough coattails for that strategy to work for lots of Democrats. If we're running a national campaign based on who's the best C-i-C, how's that going to help all the state and local Dem candidates and all the congresspeople running for election based on an economic message? There's going to be a huge difference between the message at the top of the ticket and what people are trying to say in every other race. I wouldn't want to be a woman running for election when the national debate is over who's better on national security?


(Is there a word besides "millitary" you want me to use to describe what most people are going to think about when you wage a campaign based on defense and national security and "foreign policy" that will prove to you that it's not just me who is going think that way?)