Kerry Struggling to Find a Theme, Democrats Fear

[Snellius]

WASHINGTON, May 1 — Two months after Senator John Kerry effectively captured the Democratic presidential nomination, party officials say his campaign is being regularly outmaneuvered by the White House as it struggles to find a focus and to make the transition from the primaries to the fight with President Bush.

Even while expressing confidence about Mr. Kerry's prospects, Democratic Party officials said they were concerned about what they described as his trouble in settling on a defining theme for his candidacy, the pace of his advertising and his progress in setting up field organizations in battleground states.
...
In Ohio, the state that strategists for Mr. Kerry and Mr. Bush view as perhaps the most critical battleground, Mr. Kerry has yet to hire a state director or open a campaign office. His operation is relying so far on the work of committees working independent of the Kerry campaign.
...
The Kerry campaign has yet to open its own full-fledged campaign "war room" — staffed with researchers, tacticians and press aides — to deal with Republican attacks and systematically marshal surrogates to make Mr. Kerry's case.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/02/politics/campaign/02KERR.html?hp

[qazplm]

1. well

it does fit his M.O. though, he is a slow-starter who comes on strong in the end, he has done it his entire career, so one could say he is acting the way he has always acted in election battles.

It's a risk/reward outlook...risk falling too far behind to catch up, but the reward is you peak on election day.

It's worked for him as senator, lets hope it works for him as presidential candidate.

[keithyboy]

100. This is a crock of S, put out there by the media.

I have been listening to Kerry at every speech he has made. His theme is this administration has lied and deceived the American people and we need to get rid of them before we can put Kerry's economic and foreign policy plans in motion. His major agenda is to get 'truth' into politics, hubris and arrogance out. That's enough for me!

[jdj]

101. Or "Media Struggling to find a verb, RNC fears"

hmm.. the slams just won't stick

he's waffling, he's flip-flopping, he's hedging, he's struggling...
what will be next?

New DNC Slogan from Kerry to Bush: "I'm rubber and you're glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you!"

And it does.

But seriously, if "party officials" really said such a thing as that the WH is "out-maneuvering" Kerry, then they should be fired. And why the h would the Times print such a plant. I loved Kerry's latest 'accidental' (not) slip about how "they're doing the work of the RNC." Who isn't , that's the question.

[bemildred]

2. Gosh, why are "party officials" talking Kerry down??? nt

[Sparkly]

4. Sure are alot of unnamed ones

Unnamed "aides," unnamed "officials," unnamed "Democrats..." Nearly all the named ones spoke up for Kerry.

[Wonderful]

11. EVERYONE in Washington is unnamed more often than not...

... bunch of cowards.

[Warpy]

6. Although you'll never convince a Naderite of this

...Kerry is making the DLC very nervous. He has been since he dumped his DLC handlers last fall and hired Kennedy's guys. Horrors! It's one reason they got Wesley Clark to switch his party registration from indie to Dem so they could run him (nothing aginst Clark as a candidate or as a man, he was just more reliably loyal to conservative DLC values).

You can expect the DLC-led circular firing squad to continue, I'm afraid. These men are horribly afraid of losing their stranglehold on internal party politics.

[Wonderful]

10. I agree Warpy...

..

[Voltaire99]

99. "Struggling"? It doesn't appear that Kerry is struggling.

He trumpets the messages of corporate conservatism and occupation in Iraq like one born to the task.

And that is the man's problem: not his dull-as-nails personality or his grim, specter-like appearance, or any lack of an effective euphemism to sugar-coat the right-leaning politics he represents. He and his handlers have ignored a moment of potent fear and revulsion over Bush--and instead of reform, have promised conservatism. The only question is whether that move is more shameful than it is foolish.

DLC upset with Kerry? Can I have some of what you're smoking? He's only spent the last month declaring he'd cut corporate taxes; increase troop commitments in Iraq; and gut his domestic agenda to bring down the deficit. Bleh: no wonder he can't take advantage of Bush's weaknesses. They're his weaknesses, too.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

105. Bingo. Kerry can't differentiate himself from *, but claim to do it better

He promises, as Wesley Clark did, to restore the illusion of US nobility and bring back the international accomplices that have been scare away by seeing the raw bone in Uncle Sam's fist without the velvet glove of 'diplomacy.'

Here's a theme: Restore the Grand Lie

[bemildred]

18. I agree too Warpy.

They are really going to shit a brick about the call
for veterans to march for better benefits. They are
worried about a Kerry landslide is what they are worried
about, and long congressional coattails, lots of new
Congress critters that don't owe them squat.

[Wonderful]

19. Neither Bush nor Kerry will win this election in a landslide..

PERIOD.

[bemildred]

22. What's this, faith based politics? nt

[Wonderful]

24. No, it's common sense.

[bemildred]

25. Right, you cannot wrap your mind around it, so it must be wrong. nt

[Wonderful]

26. Simply a logical conclusion...

[bemildred]

27. You have offered no logic. Zero. nt

[Wonderful]

29. Nor did I say that I had... we are all exposed to the same information...

.. you can be realistic or naive... I choose realistic.

[bemildred]

31. You choose to believe you are realistic, see post #22. nt

[nolabels]

92. Some people have special powers, didn't you know

[bemildred]

94. Heh.

:thumbsup:

[KittyWampus]

35. Wes Clark Was The Most PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE

outside Dennis.

The complete lack of knowledge about Clark, his positions is pathetic.

That DU'ers just spout nonsense about the man and act as if what they say is based on some objective reality is beyond me.

[Tommy]

55. fear

what Kerry needs to do is explain that fear is for cowards. it s the core of the republican party. stop being fearful , be brave be a Democrat. without fear the republicans have nothing. oh yes and it s great to be with my democratic brothers and sisters. like a warm comfortable chair. a place of warm friends.

[bemildred]

63. Correct, of course.

He seems to be working on it, from what I can tell.
I will remain skeptical, as a free citizen ought.
Stay tuned.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

88. Welcome to DU, Tommy!

All democrats should be of good cheer here...

[0rganism]

79. Notice they don't say which party, eh?

It's contextually IMPLIED they're Democratic party officials, but never stated outright. They could be interviewing Ed Gillespie for all we know.

How very clever. How very disingenuous.

[jdj]

104. 2nd paragraph : Democratic party officials

I'd love to read the original quotes though.

[Just Me]

3. Is it is just me, or do too many headlines contain the word, "fear".

This is the second article in less than 24 hours that has, "democrats fear" in the headline.

:wtf:

[bemildred]

30. I have counted three, all from nameless "sources".

Could be the reporter's dog for all we get.

[bain_sidhe]

40. Good Catch... associate "fear" with "Democrats"

We may be seeing the birth of an "al Queda=Iraq-ization" strategy here. Don't necessarly SAY the two are linked, just consistently use the two words together so that they get associated with each other in the public's mind.

[Wonderful]

5. Anyone But Bush isn't going to win an election

there has to be a message

[glitch]

21. IMO a day old cold ham sandwich would win an election against *

if the votes were accurately counted. Welcome to DU!

[Greylady]

7. Who are these party officials?

I'm not fearing anything, the only theme Kerry will need soon is that he is not Bush the Barbarian.

[Alpharetta]

8. The media wants a target

They want him to "define" himself so they can find cracks in his positions.

Kerry's doing just fine. Like a patient batter, he doesn't have to swing at outside pitches.

[madeuplikebowie]

38. Kerry is doing just fine

among people who don't watch cable news. The amount of Kerry bashing that goes on there is unsettling.

[bpilgrim]

9. REGIME CHANGE

works for me ;->

peace

[acmavm]

12. The only 'defining theme' Kerry needs is just to simply and loudly say

"I'm not bush*."

[Wonderful]

13. That theme has been tried for the last several months....

...and it's failing.

[bobbieinok]

85. ????????????

[rocktivity]

81. DING DING DING! Acmavm, you're our grand prize winner!

Kerry doesn't have to "define" himself--all he has to do is offer up ways to clean up the mess in the White House that Bush built. He's doing absolutely the right thing by speaking out only when attacked personally, and letting Bush have the media spotlight all to himself as he wallows in the war's excrement.

It's Bush's attempts to define Kerry as a "flip-flopper" and "bad solider" that have failed. He has only the war to run on, and now that it's coming apart faster than a stripper's coustume, he needs a weapon of mass distraction from all the bad press he's been getting. Therefore the mainstream media has been assigned to flush Kerry out into the open, and Kerry's disgruntled ex-employees are only too happy to help. Don't take the bait, President Kerry--stay the course!

:headbang:
rocknation

[IndianaGreen]

14. Kerry's theme on Iraq is to "persevere" until Iraq is "stable"

Honestly, I cannot imagine a President Kerry doing a Nixon and escalating the war in 2005 in a desperate attempt to "win" some peace with honor.

A President Kerry will have to repudiate candidate Kerry and pull the troops out of Iraq at once, as Premier Zapatero did in Spain, or he can chose to go deeper into the quagmire blinded by his own ideology.

History will not be kind if he makes the wrong choice.

Back on point, here is Kerry's Iraq doctrine of "stay the course":

Meet the Press (NBC News) - Sunday, April 18, 2004

MR. RUSSERT: But do you have a plan to deal with Iraq? This is what you...

SEN. KERRY: Yes.

MR. RUSSERT: This is what you wrote in The Washington Post last Tuesday: "Our country has committed to help the Iraqis build a stable, peaceful and pluralistic society. No matter who is elected president in November, we will persevere in that mission."

SEN. KERRY: Yes, we will.

MR. RUSSERT: That sounds exactly like George Bush.

<snip>

MR. RUSSERT: How do you define failure?

SEN. KERRY: Well, I think failure is the lack of a stable Iraq. I think a failed state in Iraq is failure.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4772030

[Nancy Waterman]

17. Kerry's policies are clear

This is the Bush disinformation campaign trying to paint him like Gore and other Dems whose characters were also assassinated. They want people to see him as weak and waffley. That is why they attacked about his war credentials trying to depotentize them. It has nothing to do with truth and everything to do with Rovian strategy of attacking into strength.

Kerry's policies:


fiscal responsibility rather than spending and tax cuts without every saying how they will be paid for;

a plan in Iraq that lets go of plans for American dominance and unilateralism and instead works with other nations for the common good;

an environmental policy that focuses on protection of the environment and dealing with global warming rather than ignoring science, subsidizing the extraction industries, and allowing them to pollute with impunity;

an energy policy that focuses on development of renewable energy rather than only continuing to develop more oil and gas sources to plunder at the expense of the environment and the local populations.

The choice is clear. Can we stop talking about ribbons?!!!

[IndianaGreen]

33. Vietnam is only an issue if we repeat the same mistakes we made there

The issue I care about is how will Kerry get us out of Iraq and how soon. At the rate things are going now, nothing that is being said today by Bush and Kerry will be relevant by the time 2005 rolls in.

Zapatero pulled Spain's troops out of Iraq without hesitation. Why can't the Democratic nominee do the same?

[IndianaGreen]

37. Kerry is wrong on GLBT rights

And article from mid-April that really shows the difference between a Socialist leader on gay rights and the kind of crap we get in America from both major parties.

I will remind the reader that John Kerry opposes gay marriage and he also opposes including the transgendered (the "T" in GLBT) as a protected class in ENDA.

Gay marriage rights lead Spanish PM's drive for sexual equality

Giles Tremlett in Madrid
Friday April 16, 2004
The Guardian

The incoming prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, set Spain on a radical course of social change yesterday by promising to legalise gay marriage and amend the constitution to give women the equal right of succession to the throne.

In his first parliamentary speech since winning the general election last month he promised to make equality between sexes an "emblematic task".

<snip>

"It is time to bring to an end, once and for all, the intolerable discrimination still suffered by many Spaniards exclusively by virtue of their sexual preferences," he said.

"Homosexuals and transsexuals deserve the same public consideration as heterosexuals and have the right to live freely the life that they themselves have chosen.

"We will recognise, on an equal basis, their right to marriage, with the consequent effects on labour rights, inheritance and social security protection," he added.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gayrights/story/0,12592,1192987,00.html

[Politicub]

15. Mr. Nagourney should be patient

He should take Kerry's example and be patient. Let the opposition spend its war chest this early in the game -- war chests of both money and information.

Maybe the people will get overloaded by "all bush, all the time" and will have tuned out his message during the critical two to three months before the primaries.

And wham - Kerry's message of hope, inclusion and progress drowns out the negative, mindless jabberings of the GOP talking points.

Kerry's record speaks for itself. For all the the money the GOP is spending this early to define Kerry, it isn't doing as good of a job as I'm sure they had hoped. Contrast Bush's spending with the record pace of Kerry's fund raising and it paints a positive picture indeed for the next several months.

[David Dunham]

16. Good Theme: "Uniting America"; Bush has divided us in many ways.

[mulethree]

20. Message - Kerry not whipped by party machine?? n/t

[bemildred]

23. I think you have it! nt

[Garion_55]

28. getting sick of this talk. people need to read this article....

found it the other day. perhaps we should start emailing this to every media outlet and every democrat 'party official' out there. Kerry is in DAMN GOOD shape for the time of year it is.


Can Clinton Save his Candidacy?

BY DONALD LAMBRO

Donald Lambro is the chief political corespondent for the Washington Times and a nationally syndicated columnist with United Feature Syndicate.

This is a year of turmoil and terror in the Democratic Party: Their likely presidential nominee battered, bloodied, and ridiculed even before the general election has begun; angry, unforgiving voters appear ready to wreak punishment on the scandal-ridden Democratic-controlled Congress; and a fiery anti-incumbent mood may be sweeping the nation.

Indeed, many Democrats fear that their primaries are about to deliver to them "the worst of all worlds, a bleeding front-runner stumbling over the finish line" to receive the Democratic presidential nomination, said Sawyer.

Another Democratic strategist, who conducts polls for the party, told me that in head-to-head polling against President George Bush, who has substantial negatives of his own, Clinton does poorly. "I did a poll in Idaho for a Senate race and we found that Bush had a 61 percent negative job approval rating. And yet Bush beats Clinton by 2-to1."

"He's too cute by far. He talks like a lawyer when he says he didn't inhale . I find it hard to believe. He should have just said it was a mistake. No one is going to hold one of those thing against him. But one thing they will hold against him is playing it a little too cute."

"Both of these candidates are so flawed that there is no possibility of their defeating President Bush," former New York Mayor Ed Koch said of both Clinton and former California Gov. Jerry Brown. "Bill Clinton has no credibility."
http://www.worldandi.com/public/1992/june/cr6.cfm

[Tellurian]

103. Great Example of the same ole, same ole... thanx! nt

[Tellurian]

107. If you don't mind, I'm going to bookmark it..

and use it on the "hurry up, Kerry naysayers"...

The article reeks of Rove!

Amazing, he hasn't grown one bit more clever in 12 yrs!

[Nite Owl]

32. What strikes me is that this time

it's hard to pick a theme. It's more than 'it's the economy stupid' for this election. The economy is a part of it but with Bush* there are so many things to choose from and message can come out as confusing. How do you soundbite everything to make it simple?

[demgrrrll]

34. Oh good grief is this a Nagourney hit piece? Please refer to

Bob Sommersby and The Daily Howler. Use the search engine
and type in Nagourney. He was a reliable Gore basher in 2000.
Same ole same ole.

[Solidarity]

36. Might Kerry Campaign Against Bush's Iraq Policy?

Gee. Do you think campaigning against the Bush governments war and occupation of Iraq might win some votes? How about a "I Will Bring Our Troops Home" theme ... would that be catchy enough? Oooopppppssss. Guess it would be hard for Kerry to be the anti-war candidate since he supports Bush's invasion and occupation.

But he could flip!

[sadiesworld]

39. Typical NYT hit piece.

[Solidarity]

41. Defend The Bill Of Rights?

Or how about this theme or message .... "Defend The Bill Of Rights!"

Nope. That's too radical, might have to oppose the Patriot Act to do that.

[Wonderful]

42. Come on, Sadiesworld...let's at least be intellectually honest here....

NYT is one of the most liberal papers in America

[Nite Owl]

50. Not really.

They may take a moderate stance on some things but they aren't liberal. Calling them liberal is a figment of the right wing that has moved the center so far to the right that anything moderate seems liberal and left of center is outright radical. They are the ones that hit Clinton the hardest. They are the ones that started the Whitewater thing that went no where but they kept hitting on it. Safire, Friedman and Miller are not near liberal.

[bemildred]

52. NYT is a state propaganda organ.

It spews bullshit on command, and is conservative
in thought and deed.

[Wonderful]

57. That's like saying Fox News is Liberal....

... let's at least be honest folks.

[bemildred]

59. Fox news is crap. nt

[Old and In the Way]

73. Relax Wonderful.

You really are going to love a competent administration. Think of Bush as a temporary idiocy that will be bookended by two great Presidents, Clinton and Kerry.

The beauty is, the Repblicans have finally destroyed any any question that they are capable of running this country. It's not so bad, really. You might even get to enjoy a really intelligent guy running our country again.

[sadiesworld]

71. BS, The NYT is liberal on SOCIAL issues only.

They regularly rip dem candidates and politicians to pieces. You should do some research on their treatment of Bill Clinton and their treatment of Gore (vs the kid gloves they used w/ Bush) in the 2000 election.

You also should do some research on their positions on media deregulation, outsourcing, and their support for the Iraq War.

Just b/c Rush tells you that the NYT is liberal doesn't make it so.

[nolabels]

93. What the heck, we could look on the bright side

If everybody in US was informed as the vast majority here at DU land, the folks at the NYT would themselves be looking for unemployment line.

Just whisper it, people are more fond of listening that way

"All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusion is called a philosopher.' - Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)"

http://www.miniluv.com/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=471

[bobbieinok]

86. in the past , maybe - now NO WAY

[goforit]

43. How about the theme of a Civil War!!!.......People WILL listen!!!!!!!!!

[Wonderful]

44. Not really a "Uniting" theme...

[Solidarity]

45. Unite?

Unite to do what?

[Wonderful]

47. I keep hearing....

...that Bush is the great divider....well Kerry isn't going to be a uniter with that approach.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

90. Well, just remember to vote for Kerry in NOV, wonderful, LOL...

[Cocoa]

46. the Republicans are the ones fearing

they're know their emperor has no clothes, and are afraid everyone is starting to see it.

[Wonderful]

48. Well....

..it's Kerry's approval numbers that are falling most drastically... it's going to be a close election, no doubt

[Old and In the Way]

74. Falling "drastically"? Only in your dreams.

Bush spent $60MM in the last 6 weeks.....and it's done squat for his favorables. Bush is toast.

[Wonderful]

49. You think Kerry might shock everyone and pick Ted Kennedy as his VP?

?

[Wonderful]

51. I guess that idea isn't real popular

[bemildred]

53. It's just unrealistic.

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[bemildred]

54. It goes against common sense.

:dunce:

[Wonderful]

56. You're learning....

[bemildred]

58. I already knew. nt

[Wonderful]

60. Well, you're applying what you know then.... that's all that counts.

[bemildred]

61. The journey is the reward. nt

[Cocoa]

62. also against the law

as someone pointed out here at DU, Kerry has to pick someone from outside of MA.

[bemildred]

64. I was trying to restrict myself to the gentlepersons own arguments. nt

[bobbieinok]

87. of course when republicans did it with W and Cheney, courts said 'great'

[robbob]

98. Oh, like b* did when he picked Cheney

as his running mate?

;-)

:toast:

[Old and In the Way]

75. Ted would be a great VP...unfortunately, the Republicans

would burn him at the stake. Would I rather have Kennedy or Cheney as VP? That's a no-brainer. Dick Cheney is a world-class white collar criminal who has elevated corporate-government welfare to an artform.

[Wonderful]

65. How about Sen. Byrd as VP then???????????????

[Solidarity]

66. Not Likely

Not very likely. Byrd opposed Bush's invasion of Iraq and the Patriot Act. Byrd has been challenging Bush for over a year with little or no help from Kerry so I don't think even Byrd would want to be Kerry's V-P.

[Wonderful]

67. I guess that's not a hit either......

[Solidarity]

68. Kerry Just Didn't Know Bush Was Lying About Iraq .... But We Did!

"Kerry only agreed with war if Saddam was PROVEN to have weapons and to be an imminent threat."

Really? Could Kerry not have withheld his support to an invasion until such proof was presented? He didn't. Why is it that 21 other Democratic Senators did not take such a wishy washy position and actually voted against the war resolution? I guess it could be that Kerry either lacked backbone, was easily fooled by the Bush government, didn't know what was really going on in Iraq or was simply trying to cover his ass just in case the invasion and occupation did not go very well.

I'm sure you find a good excuse for Kerry's action.

[Old and In the Way]

Wonderful, just wondering.

Are you able to string, say, 2 sentences together to form a coherent thought? Or have you spent so much time at the FR that your critical writing skills have atrophied?

[Leilani]

69. How about: Change for the 21st Century!

We need new approaches for new problems.

Energy independence: cant drill our way out of shortages.

Trade: Free Trade has not worked; we need fair trade.

Terrorism: Waging war on nations is not the way; need to hunt down terrorists.

Foreign Policy: Unilateral approach not working.

[Solidarity]

72. How About That!

"Change for the 21st Century!
We need new approaches for new problems."


I suppose that's better than standing for "Change in the 20th Century!".

So what are the new approaches and problems? "New approaches for new problems" is about as vague as one can get. Ranks right up there with "For Progress And Other Nice Things"

[Leilani]

77. What a valuable contribution you have made to this discussion!

EOM

[Emillereid]

70. It does not help the cause of winning in November

to hide our partisan heads in the sand and not see the obvious. With his 'nuanced, often muddled' differences between his positions and those of Bush on some of the most central issues of the day, his campaign does lack clarity and focus. He seems overly managed and cautious. And I for one am angry about it -- I firmly believe it is his election to lose. I mean, "where the beef." If he doesn't 'let it rip' and give us something to get excited about, he's probably going to lose. Unless his campaign comes alive soon, we will have to count on Bush defeating himself -- not a good strategy when running against an incumbent with lots of money. I mean the chimp can automatically count on 85% of the evangelical vote no matter what he does or doesn't do --- and remember an estimated 42 - 49% of the American people when asked identified themselves as born again, evangelical christians. God I wish Kerry could resurrect the passion and conviction of the young man he used to be!

[AndyTiedye]

83. I HOPE There Aren't That Many Fundies in the US

> the chimp can automatically count on 85% of the evangelical vote no matter what he
> does or doesn't do --- and remember an estimated 42 - 49% of the American people
> when asked identified themselves as born again, evangelical christians.

If what you say *is* true, then all is lost.

[Emillereid]

84. In the frontline special last week

the estimate was about 40% and I have read that 49% of Americans identify themselves as born again Christian. So much depends on the definitions -- in one survey that I read had a very strict definition of evangelicals reported only 8% of Americans. There are a lot of them -- and the repukes have been busy mobilizing them for years -- these guys have certainly been thinking long term. In 1988 Bush won something like 83% of them -- and he didn't win any other religious group but he won the evangelicals by such a whopping amount the repukes realized they didn't need to appeal to anyone else. Bush won them by astronomical amounts last time too. However I don't think their vote will or has to automatically put Bush in again because they are over represented in republican states anyway. But the moral here is that Bush has solidified his base big time whereas Kerry has been doing nothing to nail his base down -- in fact, in many ways he's been doing a lot to turn off his base.

Here's the results of one survey they has the born agains at about 41% in 2001 -- this survey didn't depend on the people's self definition but on a couple of qualifying statements they agreed with. One survey that I read that was looser and allowed the respondents to agree or disagree that they were born agains found 49% (can't find it just now). I bet the numbers have gone up since 911.

http://www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PageCategory.asp?CategoryID=8

Anyway they are a force to be reckoned with -- and they overwhelmingly will vote for Bush again -- because he is a Christian like them!!!

[jdj]

106. Larry Flynt's book is our only hope with the evagels

He and Howard Stern have more ability to reach them than anyone, cause of the correlation between religious extremism and consumption of porn.

My best friends grandad is a pentacostal holiness (like AshKKKroft) minister who has quite the liking for X rated movies. It goes with the territory I think.

[bobbieinok]

89. media - media - media ........spin vs Kerry like spin vs Gore

[Karenina]

76. COURSE CORRECTION.

The U.S. on ALL LEVELS needs a "pilot" who can make a COURSE CORRECTION. Socially, economically, militarily, sprirtually, the U.S. MUST CHANGE ITS TRAJECTORY!

[Malva Zebrina]

78. as far as I am cocerned the theme is the attrocity of the war

in Iraq and the murders of thousands of innocent people on lies.

That atrocity is foremost in my mind.

We see pictures of the abuses heaped upon Iraqi prisioners and we are shocked and we are outraged

yet no one is outraged at the invasion and the murder by bombs of tens of thousands of innocent lives

Jesus--these were people--human beings. They were human beings that same as the human beings who were abused int he prison--and NO ONE is calling Bush on this illegal invasion--on this atrocity

I cannot believe it.

I am severly disappointed in my government as well as John Kerry

Any normal thinking human being has got to know that this is an atrocity

Yet Kerry voted for it and goes about as if it was business as usual and he will take care of it if h e is elected byh bringing in the UN, or Nato

Geez--and there is NOTHING to be said about the tragedy of it all--about the murderous George Bush?

I cannot agree with others thatKerry needs to stand back in order to be elected

He is standing back alright--and by doing so is garnering in the contempt of people who KNOW that there is NOTHING about this invasion that can be justified or rectified

He is NOT being honest and to tell the truth, I am sick of dishonesty and spin from our rich leaders.

Sick of it. It is a disgrace the way we elect men in this country.
w

[0rganism]

80. The media whores will bash Kerry no matter what, regardless

If John Kerry had the most organized campaign in the history of presidential politics, they'd just call him a "Beltway Insider" and ridicule him on that basis.

Ignore this slanted hit piece. When the time is right, John Kerry will have the staff in place and the theme to put him in the driver's seat.

[leesa]

82. This is what they pulled on Gore too. This is just more GOP propaganda

They will quote real and fake "Democrats" who will go on and on about how ineffective the Dem candidate is no matter what that candidate does. Are we going to fall for it again?? Remember, many of the Dems in the DLC and in Congress appear to want the neocons in power.

[GaryL]

102. Absolutely!!!

I saw Matthews talk about how stiff and boring Kerry was and how likable the idiot son is. Be prepared for a long summer of the press attempting to "Gore" Kerry. Anything to keep us from talking about what John Kerry HAS been speaking about, jobs, the economy, and the environment.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

91. I think JK is doing OK but could be doing better. A unifying "theme"

I think would be helpful (if not essential) to his campaign.

"Rejoining the community of nations"

might be a possible.

[Merlin]

95. I suggested to him Thursday night what his mantra ought to be.

Don't know if you'd call it a theme, but--just as JFK used "We can do bettah!" in 1960, I suggested to Kerry he ought to use:

"President Bush doesn't have a plan. I do!"

You can use it on virtually any topic, from health care to economic recovery to social security to Iraq. It's true. And it resonates.

(He seemed receptive, with an "I'll take it under advisement" type expression. This followed a conversation with him about our days in VVAW.)

[Democat]

96. Why the hell doesn't he have a "war room" set up?

He should have had that in place months ago. No wonder we aren't hearing unified talking points from Democratic officals.

Come on Kerry, you've got the money, now kick some ass!

[flaminbats]

97. I will vote for Kerry

but his campaign needs focus. To quote a famous line about another politician, "he reminds me of an unguided missile..going off in all directions."

Without a clear campaign theme to help Kerry stay on message and a War Room to make quick responses or take the initiative..Democratic politicians will begin to distance themselves from Kerry. Once this begins Kerry will never be able to raise the money or win the public support necessary to defeat the incumbent.

[sal]

108. don't bite!

This is a smear to be repeated over and over by the lap-dancer press for the BFEE. They did it in 2002 by repeatedly mawking the constant mantra of, "the Democrats have no alternative, they just stand for anti-Bush negativity." I saw the pathetic nob-polisher, Bill Schneider on CNN doing this very thing this morning.

The idea is that JK has to take his base for granted and start pandering to so-called swing voters. There are so few swing voters - it is a false choice.

JK needs more discipline. I can only imagine him being able to effectively counter by massive sloganeering. i.e "new deal", "square deal," "it's the economy stupid," etc, and every sound bite should be aggressively in ass monkey's face. Screw the mushy middle.

A lot of people don't seem to understand that if we lose this election America is forever gone. Even if good triumphs over evil in a vote, they might steal it again anyway. A fascist dictator has overthrown our legal government in a bloodless coup.

[Gingersnapsback]

109. 1st Order: Cut to the Chase!

We must demand receipts at the voting machines. Kerry could win by a landslide but we will never know if the votes are not counted and certifiable.

2nd Order: Charismatic VP. My repugnican friends that didn't like Bush because they thought he was clueless, had voted Bush because they knew Cheney would run things. Bill Clinton would unite us. Do it if at all possible. Hillary or any woman would defeat us in a Liberal heartbeat.

3rd Order: Advertise Bush's list of flip flops. "Which way should we stay the course?"

4th Order: Don't do anything they can hang you for. Let them hang themselves! Everyday they lie and dig a deeper hole.

5th Order: Stop the dissensions in the Democratic Party. It only gives them something to laugh at. No one takes us seriously and we loose and Nader gains votes for Bush. They win votes either way when they laugh at us.