Salon/Conason: After the euphoria

[kskiska]

John Kerry and his advisors had better not get too cocky over their victory in the first debate. They still need to shore up their weaknesses and hammer Bush harder.

Stunned by George W. Bush's lackluster and peevish performance, his media claque had no time to recover to promote an effective line of propaganda on his behalf. On television and the Internet, the president's supporters were unable to conceal their dismay, instantly reinforced by the networks' polling verdicts. By Friday morning, conservative spin had devolved into excuses about his fatigue from comforting Florida hurricane victims -- and the official Republican and Bush Web sites weren't even claiming a victory for their candidate.

The Republican debate negotiators muscled the terms for the first contest, confident that Bush would prevail on foreign policy and thus finish off his opponent weeks before Election Day. Apparently those arrogant handlers had reckoned neither with the inherent weaknesses of the president's position nor the considerable strengths of John Kerry, a smart and seasoned debater. Without question, the Democrat scored a decisive victory on territory that the White House had claimed as its own.

The sounds of euphoria emanating from the Kerry campaign are understandable, after weeks of rumored disarray and discouraging headlines. But before overconfidence replaces dejection, Kerry and his advisors should remember a few important facts.

(snip)

Luntz confirmed the Post's assessment that the debate was "over in the first ten minutes," after Kerry brought up Osama bin Laden's escape from Afghanistan.

more…
http://salon.com/opinion/conason/2004/10/02/debate/index.html

[Fovea]

1. over in the first ten minutes

Stripped bare ass naked. Now it is permissible for the whores to whistle and jeer at Dubya.

[AntiFascist]

2. Interesting Florida focus group feedback

What else did the little dials turned by the focus groupers tell us? According to Luntz, "Kerry's focus on allegiances, allies and coalitions was very favorably received." That is most encouraging news for the Democrat because his multilateralism is the difference that distinguishes him most sharply from Bush. What the voters may also have picked up in Kerry's remarks about America's traditional allies is a sense of conviction.

Kerry expresses himself with absolute clarity on the importance of restoring American prestige and leadership in the world.

[Hand]

3. "Inherent weakness" is the key...

It's why Chimpy went down in flames this time around--no matter how "on message" and "focused" he is, the policies and practices he's pushing are inherently shallow, ill-conceived, and unworkable.

On a practical level, there ain't 90 minutes worth of anything to say about them. He was repetitious because he said all there was to say in ten minutes. Same goes for domestic policy--tax cuts, bogus education stuff, um... no gay marriage, eh... drill for oil everywhere... er... bduh...

That's the fundamental weakness that Kerry can exploit in the coming debates, just as he did in the first. Here's one: On energy policy, "The best way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is to reduce our dpendence on oil, period. With crude at $50 a barrel and likely to stay there, alternatives such as solar, wind power, geothermal, etc., etc., are economically viable and strategically valuable. My administration will undertake a program to develop these sources on the scale of the successful lunar landing effort of the 1960s--and actually, we should have been doing this all along. WHAT WILL THE PRESIDENT DO???? And just remember, hydrogen cars don't count because there's no readily available supply of hydrogen!!!"

Game, set, and match!

:toast: