A Nostalgia for The Consensus Of the 1990s

[papau]

Kerry stands for "The Restoration"??? Time for someone who is cautious about making decisions and using power too quickly -- not about making decisions and using power - or changing bad decisions.

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

A Nostalgia for The Consensus Of the 1990s


By John F. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 29, 2004; Page A01


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.<snip>

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 top Clinton administration officials to Kerry's side as the policy engines of this campaign, creating what amounts to a government-in-waiting.<snip>

Mary Beth Cahill, Kerry's campaign manager, said on Wednesday that voters will become more familiar with what the campaign regards as innovative ideas to expand health care coverage and promote energy independence. But she agreed that a dominant theme of Kerry's candidacy is the argument that "the Bush administration has been a radical departure" from a 1990s consensus about "things that Americans want to do together."

The language of restoration is woven throughout Kerry's campaign. In what his campaign billed as a major statement of the candidate's values, Kerry told the Democratic Leadership Council this spring that his agenda is "not a new way or a third way -- it's the right way to lead America and make America strong again."

That speech, like many he delivers, was laced with references to "responsibility" -- 10 mentions in all -- on issues ranging from the budget to Iraq to relations with allies. Meanwhile, Tad Devine, a Kerry communications strategist, said the campaign hopes one message voters will take from the convention is Kerry's commitment to "restoring respect for America in the world."<snip>