For Kerry, Playing Catch-up

[kskiska]

Overtaken by Dean, Senator Seeks to Revive Campaign

Monday, September 1, 2003; Page A01

As the make-or-break fall campaign season commences for the Democratic presidential contenders, Sen. John F. Kerry -- once considered by many the front-runner for the nomination -- is struggling to catch fire in early voting states and adapt to the sudden and race-altering surge of rival Howard Dean.

Kerry, a Democrat from Massachusetts and a Vietnam war hero, has lost significant ground to Dean in recent months, as he has come under fire for sounding ambivalent on the Iraq war and for failing to connect with the antiwar, anti-Bush voters dominating the nominating process. He has struck many Democrats as aloof and indecisive, even as advisers sought to portray him as the only candidate with the stature and stamina to defeat President Bush. Several Democrats said Kerry's campaign often reflects the key weakness of Al Gore's in 2000: relying too heavily on a team of big-name strategists and too little on letting the candidate run loose.

"I don't think I've kicked my campaign off sufficiently," Kerry said yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I am going to reach out to the country and be as clear as a bell about the leadership I offer." Kerry will officially announce his candidacy Tuesday in South Carolina and will run his first political ads of the campaign this week.

Kerry has plenty of time, money and skills to catch up, fellow Democrats say. The campaign, by historical standards, is in its infancy. Nine candidates have been running for eight months, but polls show few voters have tuned in long enough to recognize many, if any, of the faces. The next four-plus months, however, will be decisive.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8597-2003Aug31.html

[sfwriter]

1. Wow....

I was going to comment, but I can't think of a single thing to say about Kerry that would be encouraging. He's acting like the last eight monthes don't really count. Time for a do-over.

-Sandy

[KC21304]

5. I don't think you can expect a sitting Senator

to devote 22 months full time to running for President. He would not be fulfilling his commitment to the people of Mass. if he had been on the stump as much as Dean, who did not hold an office during this time. I think he will do fine.

[w4rma]

15. That will be a weakness against Bush* also. (n/t)

[David Dunham]

2. Kerry Hammered Dean on Repealing Middle Class Tax Cuts

Senator Kerry on Meet the Press correctly pointed out that Dean's plan to repeal the entire Bush tax cut will seriously raise taxes on middle class families. The taxes for my family, with two kids, will be raised over $2000 if Dean's repeal goes through. Dean wants, for example, to repeal the $1000 per child tax credit and reinstate the marriage tax penalty. That's an elitist position and against traditional Democratic tax fairness. Unless Dean changes his position, Kerry and other candidates will nail Dean in ads in tax-concerned New Hampshire and other states. Democratic primary voters WILL be influenced by this dumb position Dean is taking.

[sfecap]

4. Gee, Dave...you seem to be spamming.

Did you really get a $1000 per child tax credit, or was the existing tax credit raised from $600 to $1000?

So, with two kids, you can deduct $800 less, right? And if you are in the 35% tax bracket, your tax bill will be increased by $280.

You must be doing pretty well if your tax bill will go up by $2000.

What do you pay for health insurance?

[David Dunham]

6. Dean is an Elitist

Dean is an elitist if he thinks that middle class and lower class primary voters do not want to keep their tax cuts. They will vote their pocketbooks. That means for Kerry and Dean,unless he changes his position on this issue. Kerry is for tax fairness. Dean does not seem to care.

[sfecap]

10. And YOU are a spammer.

You didn't answer the question....tell us how the 800 dollar difference raises your taxes by 2000 dollars.

[sendero]

19. LOL

Oh really? :)

Ok, Dean has something Kerry cannot beg, borrow or buy. He has passion and conviction and a willingness to fight.

Now that I've heard Kerry speak, I'd say he is *done*. He makes Al Gore sound like a firebrand, and is only nominally clearer in message than Bush* himself. How this guy was ever the "front runner" I will never understand. Only on paper, that is the only place he looks good.

Nobody is going to win this nomination with a lot of "measured" double-speak and vague pablum. Bye John!

[TrueBlueDem]

12. What friggin' tax cut?

I make a middle-class income, but didn't get a dime back in Chimpy's co-called tax cut (i.e., tax advance on next year's tax return.) -- But then I don't have kids to claim.

On the other hand, my Sweetie has two kids, but as a disabled veteran doesn't make enough income to qualify for a dime of Chimpy's so-called tax cut.

Should we abolish the tax cut to reduce the deficit and fund education and health care? Sure, because no one I know is getting a friggin' tax cut anyway!

[Dan]

3. I hate to say this...

but I will vote for a Dean presidency (if he gets the nod). Because I would prefer to vote for a candidate that might lose to Bush, but in losing would destroy whatever myths surround Bush. Even if our candidate loses - destroy Bush in the process...that is how much I dislike that bastarr.

[KC21304]

7. Hogwash ! n/t

[Garion_55]

8. IF dean is the man, ill vote for him. if its kerry, ill vote for him.

not sure about the rest of them. at this point though even a president sharpton sounds just a bit better than 2nd term president bush does.

[not systems]

9. attack Bush don't be an apologist

Watching Kerry talk about Bush is a good man today
turned my stomach. On Inside Washington they were
saying Dean was getting support from angry Dem's
who hate Bush. Damn right. The fact that Dean
bashs Bush everytime he speaks is a major factor
in my support of him. Kerry has been my second
choice but if he keeps acting like Bush is just
some guy that he is having a friendly pollo match
with I will have to think again. The fact that
he has an air of elite civility and the charm of
the english gentleman is fine but not when it come
to Bush. I want someone who will give him hell
and do damage to the usurper.

[Upfront]

17. Well Said

I don't have to even think about it. After the MTP statements made by Kerry he is no longer my 2nd choice. I have no opinion on Clark other than he is not in the race at the moment. If he gets in, I want to hear him say he is a democrat. Right now, Bob Graham is my 2nd choice.

[bearfan454]

20. f#cking eh !

Bash bush every chance and make people know about everything the media won't talk about.

[polpilot]

21. Kerry's political strategists obviously are working for Rove.

Kerry on MTP: (Bush) 'a good man who wants to do good things' Rove & Co. have to be laughing their ass off after yesterday's MTP performance.

Bush/Kerry '04...Can't we all just get along???

HELL NO!!!!HOWARD DEAN '04!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

22. Kerry acts like this is a fencing match

while Dean sees this race as a boxing match. I want a fighter, not someone tiptoeing around saying their opponent is a good guy. Dean will leave Bush with no teeth.

http://homepage.mac.com/lestatdelc/gore4deanmedia/html/g4d_debate2.html

[Dover]

11. Some may see Kerry as long on experience, but I would call it entrenched

He is the status quo ruling class, his policies (particularly as regards Iraq) have been the same as Lieberman and other Bushlite politicians, and he offers no new vision for the world. It's a hawkish mindset masked by diplomacy. He comes across as ambivalent because he is not being straightforward, even though he has cultivated a decisiveness in his tone and demeanor.

Something I really appreciate so much about Kucinich is that there is no dancing around issues, no posturing and no sense that he is trying to pull one over on people. Kerry is so entrenched in Spin City and the culture of political strategy, which has taken the place of simple truth, that he has probably lost touch and track of what he, himself, really thinks and feels.

[Voltaire99]

13. Kerry's love of the status quo

Great post.

An example of what you describe occurred a few weeks ago on C-SPAN. There was Kerry, having delivered a thoughtful if tepid establishment-worthy speech to a crowd, when the Q&A began and a blue collar guy asked how US workers can hope to compete against their counterparts in nations where the income and standard of living is so much lower.

Tough question. It's really *the* question for what's left of the working class that isn't schlepping crap behind a counter at the mall. One good answer is something like, "During tough times and in an uncertain world we must all pull together. I'll pull out of NAFTA, and I'll penalize US companies that export jobs. Internationally, abysmal labor standards are killing us, and American companies that would rather dump their own workers to increase profits are a major part of that problem. It's time for Americans to pull together--and that means executives have to start standing behind American workers. Shareholder profit may be the highest goal of a company, but it is not the highest goal of our nation."

Kerry's answer? A rambling ten minute discourse that might have played well in a graduate seminar at the Kennedy School. He made some slight noises about unfair trade regulations, and he larded his every sentence with nuance, but he backpedaled and slipped and slided so much that it was clear in short time (after he'd swiftly lost the thread) that what animates him is the caressing and nibbling at the ears of a problem, blowing conventional wisdom at it, rather than identifying and advocating solutions. Footnotes seemed to coalesce in thin air; no wonder the worker who asked the question looked defeated and confused, and not a little pissed off.

It is just that sort of nothingness that makes me fear the Democratic Party will settling for more of its tired stalking of the center, where principle is spread as thin as skin over the hips of a hungry model. The errors and blunders and dishonesty of the right have handed the party an historic opportunity, but whether it is smart or even decent enough to seize the opportunity is still a question.

[Upfront]

18. Someone Else

noticed this nibble and dance all around the issue that is Kerry's standard mode. He goes around and around the bush, but never flushes the bird, as they say up here in cedar savage land. I know what Dean stands for every time, and respect the fact that anyone with a brain, will change an opinion when the facts change. Simply put, when Dean speaks, I beleive him. Go Dean!

[GalleryGod]

16. That was pure

:puke:

[onehandle]

14. Good....

It'll be nice to see more campaigns take off. More time on the air for Democrats to hammer the chimp is a good thing. We need more high profile candidates in the spotlight.

Dean and now Kerry have stepped up. Go Dems!