Team Kerry gets its act together...

[troublemaker]

I enjoyed Noam Scheiber's latest post, "Team Kerry gets its act together," about the home stretch Kerry strategy. I have small quibbles with the strategy, but it's a sound enough strategy and involves talking points simple enough that even the lamest surrogates can stay on message. And the most important thing at this point is to have one simple strategy.

From NYT: On Saturday, Johnson drew applause from Democrats assembled for a weekly strategy meeting at Mr. Kerry's headquarters when he reassured aides that the campaign had settled on a clear line of attack against Mr. Bush, people at the meeting said. They said Mr. Johnson told the group that the campaign wants the entire party to heed the new talking points. "It's very simple," Mr. Johnson said in an interview yesterday, describing what he said would be the template for Mr. Kerry's speeches and advertisements in the weeks ahead. "It's: 'Bush has taken us in the wrong direction. If you want more of the same for the next four years, vote for President Bush. If you want a new direction, John Kerry and John Edwards.' It's not complicated. Failed policies, jobs and the economy, health care."

Scheiber adds: "...every question Kerry gets at the upcoming presidential debates should begin with the following construction: "Look, it's pretty simple. If you're happy with what my opponent has done on , vote for him. If you're not happy about it, here's what I'm proposing..." The only way Kerry wins is if he conditions voters to think in these terms between now and the election."

http://www.tnr.com/etc.mhtml

What's missing IMO is a simple way of promoting *change* while saying the war on terror will continue much as it has. Personally, I think the best way to establish that is for Kerry to state that he will use military force if nessecary to prevent Iran from developing nukes. That puts Bush in the position of having to top Kerry, and what the hell tops military force? Bush would practically have to promise to nuke Iran on general principle, and that would scare people plenty.

[demosincebirth]

1. Exactly!!!

[peacetalksforall]

2. I think loose ends have to be tied up...if possible.

Judicial Watch...Mr. strangeguy....asking Govt to release all Kerry war records....if this hangs over his head until election day - the rovemachine can still rile up the parrotbrains to make a big deal our of it which can affect undecided fence sitters who are excessively obsessed with his testimony. Some influential dem lawyers should help out here to get this moving and done with.

[acmavm]

3. Screw the war records crap. Let Kerry come out publically and say that

he'll allow any and all scrutiny of his war records, etc., as soon as bush* agrees to do the same. Until then he plans to talk about the future of this country and the things that matter most to the voters, the economy, jobs, health insurance, Iraq, etc.

[rvgwinn]

5. Pentagon

Did you or anyone hear this morning that the Pentagon is starting an investigation into John Kerry's war medals? I would think they would open a Pandora's box for every medal recipient, right on up to the 4 star general's.

[Kahuna]

4. In watching Crossfire with Peter Fenn and James Carville, I'm convinced..

The DEMS had a meeting that included the Big Dawg. Fenn picked acknowledged that the Dems have been to nice, but he held up a pair of tennis shoes and said they are ready to take serious action.

[Gloria]

6. Tennis shoes? He should have held up footwear with BIG CLEATS

hanging off the bottom....nice and sharp ones, too.

[Chichiri]

7. Tennis shoes?

What is the significance of the tennis shoes?