Kerry's Inner Circle Expands

[Rose Siding]

From a tightknit group of experienced advisers, John F. Kerry's presidential campaign has grown exponentially in recent months to include a cast literally of thousands, making it difficult to manage an increasingly unwieldly policy apparatus.

The campaign now includes 37 separate domestic policy councils and 27 foreign policy groups, each with scores of members. The justice policy task force alone includes 195 members. The environmental group is roughly the same size, as is the agriculture and rural development council. Kerry counts more than 200 economists as his advisers.

In contrast, President Bush's campaign policy shop is a no-frills affair. Policy director Tim Adams directs about a dozen experts who make sure the campaign is in sync with the vast executive branch that is formulating policy. Adams's group also analyzes Kerry's proposals and voting record. Fewer than a dozen outside task forces, with five to 10 members, also help out on education, veterans' issues, the economy, and energy, environment and natural resources, said campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48168-2004Jul13.html

Regarding Bush's 'policy shop'- Didn't Diulio say he doesn't *have* one?

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

1. Knee Jerk anti-Kerry

Funny how the SCLM media can take a neutral fact -- Kerry has more policy advisors than Bush, and turn it into an anti-Kerry rant. Kerry's policy operation is now "unwieldy" while Bush's is no-frills. What crap!

[Cha]

2. The less people bush has around him ..the less

there are to mutineer and go write books...

[CharlesGroce]

3. Well Where in the World is Dennis Kucinich...

in this tightknit group?

[dweller]

10. Risen above.

aka around here as the 'fringe'...

dp

[JI7]

4. Kerry wants to hear all sides and various opinions

rather than just be told what he wants to hear.

[Tellurian]

5. Translated from Republispeak..

The Bush campaign's hands are idle.

The only busy sectors are the defense attorneys,
defending the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, the GAO seeking the Energy Papers, the 911 Commission, Enron, The Plame Affair, and on...

[Tellurian]

7. Oh, I forgot to add..

they don't really care about the election anyway because they plan on declaring Martial Law...

[phiddle]

6. Bush's Policy Shop is...

the entire administration!

[JayS]

8. This part of the story is a lie.

In some sense, the Kerry campaign has come to represent traditional notions of the Democratic Party -- an eclectic, often unruly collection of interests and characters.

Like we ever get unruly... :)

[Octafish]

9. Bush said he likes to keep a clean desk.

Matches his empty head.

From The New Republic:

THE AGENDA 

According to Bob Woodward's latest book, Plan of Attack , President Bush navigated the path to war in Iraq through sheer disingenuousness. No money for combat preparations in the Persian Gulf? Secretly siphon funds from Afghanistan. Worried about Colin Powell's objections? Keep the secretary of state out of the loop. Asked whether you're planning to invade Iraq? That one's a little more complicated. On May 23, 2002, standing beside German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at a Berlin news conference, Bush responded to a question by saying, "I have no war plans on my desk." But Woodward's book suggests otherwise: In November 2001, Bush apparently ordered Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to have General Tommy Franks begin devising war plans, and, five weeks later, Franks briefed the president on the military's initial strategy for attacking Iraq. How can Bush square these conflicting narratives? Perhaps he was speaking literally. According to Woodward, "That desk, I've been there. ... never anything on it. And he keeps a clean desk." Well, at least Bush was honest about that one. 

SOURCE:

http://www.keepmedia.com/Register.do?oliID=225

[moondust]

11. "I have no war plans on my desk."

"I hide them in the file cabinet."

And now you know...the rest of the story.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. Cheney telling Bush what to do, after consulting his lobbyist pals --

with Rove weighing in to keep the wingnut base happy -- is preferable to a panoply of expert advisers? This kind of anti-intellectual crap, on page one, burns me up.