Why would Gore & Kennedy convention speeches be off-limits to editors?

[spooked]

http://www.drudgereport.com/dnc.htm


"Top Kerry strategist Bob Shrum is also warning not to turn the convention into a default Hate Bush rally...
Kerry operatives are editing convention speeches, sources say, with only Al Gore and Ted Kennedy believed to be off-limits".

I know, I know, It's Drudge.

[never_get_over_it]

1. Maybe because

both have already made it pretty clear that Bush is a big fat liar that led us into an invasion based on lies. Also I hope they do at least some Bush bashing especially with regards to the invasion of Iraq

[Sparkly]

2. AP's take on it

It's about being "positive," for a reason. (I know a lot of people here won't like this strategy. If wins and gets the Chimperor out, I'm fine with it.)

Some speakers are too big to push around, but Kerry advisers say even VIPs like President Clinton (news - web sites) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (news - web sites) understand the strategy to build up Kerry while giving Bush a bit of a pass.

Former Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites), who has fired up Democratic crowds with harsh criticism of Bush, also "understands the drill," said adviser Carter Eskew.

The Kerry strategy is based on polls showing more than 90 percent of voters firmly aligned with one party or another, with as little as 5 percent up for grabs. Kerry's polling shows that those "persuadable" voters don't like negative politics. They give Bush poor approval ratings, but they still aren't comfortable enough with Kerry to vote against the incumbent.

"Swing and independent voters are very much up for grabs. Kerry has to make the sale, and he has a long way to go to make the sale," said Harold Ickes, who helped run President Clinton's re-election convention in 1996.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=703&e=2&u=/ap/20040725/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_vetting_speeches

[BattyDem]

3. Well ...

Gore is the President, so he should be allowed to say whatever he wants! :P

As for Kennedy ... it's Massachusetts and he's Ted Kennedy. Need I say more? ;-)

[Massacure]

4. Bush Snr turned the Republican Convention into a Clinton Bash

I heard that he hurt himself more than Clinton though. I'm 16 so I don't remember it though.

[AirAmFan]

5. Two speakers taking the low road sounds just about right

Everybody else is going to be forced to "take the high road" and sound positive, whether they want to or not. Elections are mainly about the future, not the past. In the positive future, Bush is gone, so there's no constructive reason to bash him.

But conventions MUST throw a little red meat into the crowd now and then, to get people on their feet and revved up for positive and thoughtful keynoters. If two people are going to take the low road, Gore and Kennedy are the best two choices:

(1) They're already associated strongly with partisan Bush-bashing, so the inevitable right-wing press they'll get will tend to be ho-hum, "dog bites man" stories.

(2) Everybody knows who they are already, and neither Kennedy nor Gore is likely still to harbor aspirations for higher offfice. They already had their shots at the White House. So what they'll say will be all about Bush/Cheney and Kerry/Edwards, not about Gore and Kennedy.

(3) Both men know how to get crowds involved in what they're saying. Both speeches will be memorable, but probably timed for minimum media coverage.