General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumssamnsara
(17,625 posts).but if im gonna vote for an old white guy its gonna be JOE!
CentralMass
(15,265 posts)chillfactor
(7,578 posts)and Rachel asking great questions as usual. Your loss.
redwitch
(14,946 posts)Really interesting!
Glimmer of Hope
(5,823 posts)a kennedy
(29,690 posts)hes good, and articulate, but hes tried it once, and now get behind the new man, or woman.......
Iris
(15,662 posts)ObamaKerryDem
(1,466 posts)Great interview. Still so proud he was my first ever vote for POTUS and I would happily vote for and support him again in a heart beat.
k8conant
(3,030 posts)GP6971
(31,190 posts)Kerry Edwards magnetic bumper sticker.
handmade34
(22,756 posts)I like John Kerry
rzemanfl
(29,566 posts)rickford66
(5,526 posts)And doing his book first.
rzemanfl
(29,566 posts)Kerry sometimes says things that fall flat. I was too tired last night to give context.
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)I will never forget that he seriously considered asking John McCain to be his running mate.
He held a major rally the same day as the Women's March for Reproductive Rights and the featured speaker was a rabidly anti-choice minister (who has since identified as a republican).
LisaM
(27,817 posts)He came to Seattle, gave a speech to a very enthusiastic crowd, and spoke well and thoughtfully about issues very specific to the Pacific Northwest, with which he was obviously very familiar (in stark contrast to a Howard Dean speech I'd heard a few months earlier that was just talking points).. Did the local media break down his speech? No,.they said where he was taking his wife for their anniversary dinner. The media really dropped the ball with Kerry.
Va Lefty
(6,252 posts)Thanks again to the late great much praised John McCain for not standing up for his fellow Navy Vet.
brush
(53,801 posts)The repugs cheated as usual and stole that state.
Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)Against an incumbent whose party has been in power only one term, and while we were at war.
The percentage of success in that scenario is so low it almost can't be calculated. That's why all the point by point models indicated Bush was a huge favorite, far beyond conventional wisdom. In particular, I'll never forget this Mark Mellman column from days prior to the election. Mellman was saying it was impossible to predict, while laying out all the big picture reasons Bush would win. Those were pivotal. Day to day details seldom mean anything:
http://mellmangroup.com/the_uphill_fight_is_impossible_to_predict_now/
"For months, though, Ive been assessing President Bushs vulnerability, but win or lose, it is important to acknowledge the daunting challenge Sen. John Kerry faces. Republicans have been spinning this fact for months and they are right. First, we simply do not defeat an incumbent president in wartime. After wars surely, but never in their midst. Republicans have been spinning this fact for months, and they are correct. Democrats have spoken often and powerfully about the nations economic problems. But by historical standards, they are not that bad. The misery index is 7.8 today but was 20.5 when Jimmy Carter was defeated. Economic models of elections show Bush winning 52-58 percent of the vote. One could simply suggest that the models are off, but there is more to it than that. These models essentially confirm that the level of economic pain we are now feeling is not commensurate with voting an incumbent president out of office."
***
Kerry fared much better than the landscape would have suggested. This site was unfairly influenced by a poster named TruthIsAll insisting his fancy math-based model gave Kerry a 99.99% certainty of winning.
darmok167
(284 posts)I was going to comment that while I am sure this will not go over well, in 2004 GWB was a VERY strong candidate due to several factors. The tide didn't really turn on him until Katrina in 2005. Kerry ran a very good race in a campaign the Republican side had A LOT of things going for it. The Iraq war was not yet the fustercluck it would become, the economy was relatively strong, patriotism was still on the high end even a few years after 9/11.
Much like in 2008 when whichever Democratic nominee was all but guaranteed to win the White House, 2004's was heavily favored for the incumbent Republican and Sen/Sec Kerry still almost pulled it off and did if you believe in the Ohio voter issue things.
I am not sure how he would do in 2020, but I would not be opposed, necessarily. Having gone through it once before, he'd be nearly impossible to get dirt on this time, and in theory, 2020 should be an election that STRONGLY favors the Democratic candidate, especially if it's against the dumbass in chief.
Me.
(35,454 posts)But he's a terrible campaigner and his speaking style is from the 19th century and I wonder if he could win against the rabid lot.
a kennedy
(29,690 posts)Ilsa
(61,695 posts)I like many things that are traditional and formal.
OhioBlue
(5,126 posts)I think he most definitely did better than expected in '04. I agree with what previous posters said about the election being a difficult one as Bush was an incumbent during war time and the economy hadn't totally tanked yet and it was pre-Katrina.
I also agree with previous posters tho that his campaign style wasn't that great. When he campaigned, I agreed with everything he said. Understood him to be a smart, savvy and prepared candidate that understood the nuances of foreign affairs and the economy, stood on the right side of most issues and would have felt very comfortable with a President Kerry. He did lack however a certain charisma on the campaign trail. I remember when he gave his concession speech, he was so much more relatable and oddly seemed more at ease than he did on the campaign trail.
Sneederbunk
(14,297 posts)mopinko
(70,171 posts)no lawyers, just took the money and went home.
still pissed off.
lordsummerisle
(4,651 posts)You don't have to buy his book.
I thought he gave a very cogent analysis (given the very brief time he had) on where the US stands internationally under this president.
Someone commented that he speaks like someone from the 19th century. Better that than the 4th grade schoolyard bully we have now...
a kennedy
(29,690 posts)and hes so much better then the 4th grade schoolyard bully, but not enough to survive the campaign of today......JMHO.
samir.g
(835 posts)Not mattis or mccain or any of those right wingers.
Bayard
(22,120 posts)Did a little campaigning for him back in the day. He's very intelligent, and did an excellent and articulate analysis of the damage tRump is doing to this country on Rachel's show tonight.
He has quite forcefully said he's not running for office again. Like Gore, we were robbed of a man that would have been a great president. If you're not interested in what he has to say, its your loss.
NBachers
(17,130 posts)politicasista
(14,128 posts)Plus, the right, left, those on our side, and people that used to work for Obama on social media are slamming, trashing him and his new book.
Just sayin.
Bryan
(1,837 posts)...but his window closed when he didn't run in '08 and passed his e-mail list on to the Obama campaign. He's more than earned a quiet retirement.