WP: Language of Restoration Permeates Campaign

[kskiska]

Return to Established Assumptions in Foreign and Domestic Policies a Frequent Theme

BOSTON, July 28 -- John F. Kerry as yet has no catchy phrase for his campaign. He has not laced three words together such as "putting people first" in a way that echoes, nor proposed to "build a bridge to the future," nor unleashed a new label such as "compassionate conservative" into the national conversation.

Yet if the Democratic nominee is still missing a slogan, he has gradually revealed a message. His candidacy stands for The Restoration.

Beneath the personal storms of Bill Clinton's presidency, certain ideas about national governance reigned so sturdily within the Washington policy and intellectual establishment, even among many Republicans, that they provoked scant argument during the 2000 election campaign. Four years later, the belief that President Bush has rashly defied cherished assumptions -- about the preeminence of fiscal balance at home, about how to manage U.S. alliances abroad -- has energized disparate wings of the Democratic Party in ways that Kerry's cautious platform and sober campaign style might not have done under other circumstances.

This anger at what they regard as Bush's radicalism, as well as faith in Kerry's ability to reverse it, has lured prominent top Clinton administration officials to Kerry's side as the policy engines of this campaign, creating what amounts to a government-in-waiting.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22343-2004Jul28.html

[Democat]

1. A catchy slogan might be helpful too

The American people pay attention to sound bites, so it might have been nice if the Democrats had one for this campaign. Something that would be easy to remember and powerful.

[Frances]

2. Hope is on the way

That was the theme tonight at the convention.

It's time the Repubs learn what it feels like to have their ideas ripped off!