Wait, I'm confused (again). Didn't the Republicans say that they made

[zbdent]

gains in 2002 because they kept the message "positive"?

Yet, all I heard was "Kerry this" and "Kerry that", and, lest we forget, "TERROR!"

The DNC was positive, Obama's keynote address was extremely great for a relative newcomer, Kerry's speech built to an amazing climax (like a well-done orchestral piece, with the points hitting home like the cannons in the 1812 Overture), and Edwards had a great speech.

The RNC was mostly Kerry bashing, trying their best not to alienate the Vietnam Veterans while alienating the Vietnam Veterans, Zell Miller going off his meds far more than Al Gore "ever did", and the message pretty much was "If you vote for Kerry, the World Trade Center will cease to exist" (whoops, that happened under Bush, right?). And, after all of Rove's minions constantly attacked Kerry on Vietnam, it allowed the chosen one to rise up from the depths and take the pulpit and speak platitudes with enough self-serving cheers to give him enough time to practice each sentence in his head before opening his mouth.

If it were, as the repukes said before, a matter of Positive versus Negative, then their "positive" message sounds like "we're positive that Kerry will destroy the world".

[punpirate]

1. I would say that the...

... trashing of Max Cleland and the misquoting campaign against Cynthia McKinney hardly qualify as positive. 2002 was, in fact, one of the dirtier campaigns waged, in terms of both breadth and intensity.

[zbdent]

2. yes, but in true repuke fashion,

they claim that they were "positive".

[Nay]

3. The Repubs are willing to use tactics that work (negative ones)

while telling the Dems and the great unwashed that the only way to run a campaign is by running a positive one. So, the Dems run around trying to be positive, the general public believes that the Repubs are running a 'positive' campaign because they heard Bush say that's what he is doing, and the Repubs go nasty as hell and slam Kerry while claiming to take the high road.

Shit will continue to hit the fan for the Dems as long as they listen to ANYTHING Repubs say, or as long as they give a shit about what the general public says about tactics. The general public DOESN'T KNOW anything about psychology, their own or anyone else's; they are the PRODUCTS of 100 years of concentrated psychological manipulation. Don't ask the PRODUCTS of manipulation how they feel about anything! They really don't know! They are simply reacting!

The Dems must learn to use what works. Period. No matter what kind of tactic it is.

[TheFarseer]

4. typical republican, say one thing

and do the opposite. Then deny you did the opposite.