I Just Watched a Brilliantly Orchestrated Strategy Tonight

[On the Road]

There was a lot of controversy about how much to criticize Bush or whether to be positive and upbeat.

From speaker after speaker, I heard unrelenting scathing criticism of Bush while scarcely mentioning his name. Much of it was framed as a positive message, but the issues and phrasing were carefully chosen to highlight Bush's inadequacies. It was so consistent it had to be a conscious strategy.

Do you agree? Did you see the same thing?

[Doctor_J]

1. that SHOULD be the message

"Here is how things will be better with us"

[milkyway]

2. Yes, I was thinking that shrub has become the evil we dare not mention

by name.

[WildClarySage]

16. Bush as Voldemort. I like it.

[drscm]

26. "He Who Should Not Be Named" - The Perfect Meme for * eom

eom

[MasonJar]

3. I did not get to see Al Gore, whom I really admire, but all the

others nailed Bush good. He makes it so easy.

[juajen]

9. Al Gore was simply wonderful, as was Tipper, who

came on stage at the end of the speech and kissed him. It was great!!

[jpgray]

4. Right--if you've been paying attention, there were a TON of subtle burns

Very happy with the overall tone because it didn't sound at all scripted, although there were a few times I expected 'send George Bush back to Crawford' rather than 'send John Kerry', etc.

[nostamj]

25. SUBTLE???

We CANNOT LEAD
IF OUR LEADERS MISLEAD

piano? meet passerby <crunch>



http://www.cafeshops.com/nostamj/223155

[squidbro]

5. Agreed

They did pull this one off magnificently. It must have been a conscious strategy. And WOW! The speakers were excellent.

The repukes might be in some trouble. They have no good orators to counter the Democratic speakers today.

[Sparkly]

6. Yes -- perfectly focused contrast

Very disciplined. And they almost all got to the name "JOHN KERRY" within the first few sentences. Our party is focused and on message, and if the media wants to play any clip and complain about "Bush-bashing," all they'll be doing is reinforcing our message!!

EXCELLENT!!

[Cha]

7. I just saw Brilliance after Brilliance!

I knew I would be impressed after seeing them set up for it yesterday, on c-span.

[Mortos]

8. Much like the antagonist of

the Harry Potter series. Valdemort or he who must not be named. And like the series, evil will be defeated and humiliated and tossed aside like yesterdays "Daily Prophet".

[Gloria]

10. Yes, and it was delivered............."CRISPLY" I was so amazed

at how quickly it moved, without a lot time wasted on loud music....

Gore's questions should be repeated over and over...

Clinton's recapping of how "we do it better"

also...the "steady hand" / "strong" theme.......................which I'm again hearing as MSNBC interview Gray Davis....

Wow.

PS...I see MSNBC is using a couple of the Gore questions on the crawl...including the one directed to Bush voters: Did you get what you voted for???

[liveoaktx]

11. The criticism of Bush was issue-based, not personal attack

That's the difference with the right wing-they personally attack their enemies.

[donco6]

12. Brilliant organization

Speaker after speaker, excellent. Logistics worked perfectly. Lots of kudos to the organizers - had to be a nightmare to orchestrate.

[starroute]

13. I'm in total awe of the brilliant political chess game being played

I thought Clinton did not one but two particularly devastating ju-jitsu moves:

1) He eviscerated Bush without ever saying a negative word about him. It was just, "Both candidates love their country but they have very different ideas of how to go about it."

2) He played the class warfare card without ever declaring class warfare: "Most of the 200,000 richest people in America would gladly give back $5000 of their tax cut to improve port security. But this administration thinks it's more important to put additional money in the pockets of the super-wealthy."

(Parapharases in both cases -- I don't have a transcript in front of me.)


I was the fool who stuck my head up on one of the Obama threads to say I thought he was being incredibly subtle by describing Bush as well-meaning but misguided. After tonight, I believe that more than ever. Whatever political genius is behind this strategy has to be one of the great ones.

[Solly Mack]

14. They attacked...and did so with intelligence

They damned with faint praise. They heaped ashes and scorn

My mother would have been proud of Carter and Clinton..carrying on an old old southern tradition...say it with a smile! or a look of grave concern and pity...and you can say anything about anyone and look helpful and friendly while you skewer and heap scorn on top of scorn

my mother was a master of the art...and she did so appreciate the ability in others.

[hippiegranny]

19. the southern way:

"he's a lying, reptilian, frog torturing scumbag,... bless his heart."

:)

[Solly Mack]

20. lol if they only understood just what "bless his heart" really means :o)

:hi:

[Lisa]

31. "little" heart!

Oh, yes.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

15. Hell yeah I saw the same thing

I saw a DAMN brilliant strategy. And you know what's great about it?

Every damn bit of it was the cold, hard truth.

bush talks about gagging on donkeys and swallowing elephants, I think he and his cronies ought to gag on what they saw tonight.

Choke on the truth, asswipes. You are TOAST.

[hippiegranny]

17. yes, brilliant

and clinton absolutely took my breath away! several times i just had to cheer out loud at the wonderful words he spoke and the extreme ease and conviction with which he spoke. i do feel that the speakers tonight were all very unified, on message, positive and visionary. and still they managed to paint quite a dark picture of what we currently have to endure, without naming "valdemort" by name. it was masterful.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

18. I saw the same thing. It was BRILLIANT.

I agree, it HAD to be a conscious strategy.

[MiddleRiverRefugee]

21. What was that quote from Carville?

Something about not wasting too much time trying to defeat the opposition because they've got everything they need to do it all by themselves?

[sandnsea]

22. Policy comparisons

Not Bush bashing. It was friggin' brilliant. I've never been so excited about the Democratic Party. Amazing first night! If we just go do our part registering voters and then getting them to the polls, we can't lose!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

23. Take this section of Carter's speech

I served under two presidents -- Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower -- men who represented different political parties; both of whom had faced their active military responsibilities with honor. (Cheers, applause.) They knew the horrors of war, and later, as commanders in chief, they exercised restraint and judgment. And they had a clear sense of mission. (Applause.) We have a confidence -- we had a confidence that our leaders, both military and civilian, would not put our soldiers and sailors in harm's way by initiating wars of choice unless America's vital interests were in danger. (Cheers, applause.) We also were sure that these presidents would not mislead us when issues involved national security. (Cheers, applause.)

Today -- today our Democratic Party is led by another former naval officer, one who volunteered for military service. He showed up when assigned to duty -- (cheers, applause) -- and he served with honor and distinction. He also knows the horrors of war and the responsibilities of leadership. And I am confident that next January he would restore the judgment and maturity to our government that nowadays is sorely lacking. (Cheers, applause.) I am proud -- I am proud to call Lieutenant John Kerry my shipmate, and I'm ready to follow him to victory in November.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/26/politics/campaign/26TEXT-CARTER.html

Absolutely no criticism of Bush, simply praise of Truman, Eisenhower, and Kerry.

[RetroLounge]

24. Absolutely amazing speeches tonight!

Shredded bush* and the Repugs and never stopped smiling while doing it...

I loved it.

RL

[kwolf68]

27. This IS NOT good political strategy

If we don't win in November.

My instincts agree with the posters here that this evening was a brilliant showcase.

I can't wait till we nail 3 more days on the wall just in time for the Republican Culture War Part Deux in August.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

28. It is the whole GOP...

... that is being attacked. By not mentioning GW or Cheney by name, it pre-empts the GOP spinmeisters attempts to say "the Dems bash GW and are unpatriotic"..... it is the whole GOP membership that have been shook to the thorny cockles of their bitter hearts. Great move. Who was the organizational speech director/head for this one? It was text book Public Speaking 310 in my book.

[FlaGranny]

29. There only needed to be one instruction

to accomplish the consistency - "Tell the truth as you see it, but be democratic." (Democratic: representing or appealing to or adapted for the benefit of the people at large.)

[loudsue]

30. Ok, ribofunk.......I've quit crying now....almost 2 hours later.

The CHOICE of speakers...the ORDER in which they spoke...the mood that was set...the MESSAGE.... the GENIUS in the execution of the messages they shared... not to mention the GENIUSES who spoke: a former combat vet, a former Nobel Peace Prize Winner and former President, the former FIRST lady and loving wife-come Senator, and then THE BIG DAAAAWWWWGGGG!!!

Well, I have a WHOLE different picture of John Kerry, as a leader... not to mention a man who knows how (AND IN WHICH ORDER) to introduce speakers and ideas; the rhythm, the key for all to sing in, and the POWER with which this was executed.... PHUCKING BLOWS MY MIND!!!

KERRY KNEW what he was doing. He put THE RIGHT TEAM TOGETHER in precisely the right order.

The choreography: Some rallying speakers, Carter's elder-Statesman "come to Jesus" velvet glove, then some emotional connection (the 9/11 memorial), the reverend who was there with Kerry in Nam, then Hillary, then BILL!!

Kerry's team successfully pulled my guts out and laid them on the floor in front of me. I have been crying since it started..... and loudsue doesn't cry very often; much less publicly.

What's even MORE incredible....for those of us DU political junkies... we saw the

TRUTH

of it all on SOOOOOO many levels. Joe Six-Pack, and DU researchers.....ALL of us related to what was said, along with the accompanying transformation.

HOLY MOLY!!

I'm not sure I'll ever be the same.

I'VE SEEN THE MASTERS MOVE.
:kick::kick::kick:

[Lisa]

32. you know, if somebody had seen the 2000 convention footage ...

... and absolutely NO news coverage until the start of this convention -- things would still have made sense. Brilliant storytelling -- starting with Al Gore, reminding people what happened, then graciously introducing the new protagonist. It's like something out of Shakespeare, in terms of the order ... I agree, Loudsue -- someone must have organized this, and the speakers all acted together to create as much momentum as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if they've done similar for all the major convention speeches, leading up to Kerry himself on Thursday.

The carefully-choreographed avoidance of directly mentioning *'s name -- even Carter surprised me with some beautiful pirouettes there -- and Clinton neatly swatting the knives out of the Republicans' hands (admitting to avoiding Vietnam, and being incredibly wealthy now).