America Votes | Kerry's quiet on Iraq stirs worry within party

[Nicholas_J]

The war in Iraq threatens to spiral out of control, the prisoner-abuse scandal keeps getting worse, a civilian from the Philadelphia suburbs has been beheaded in retaliation - yet John Kerry is devoting his week to the issue of health-care premiums...

Zogby, the pollster, said: "If I was giving advice to Kerry, I'd tell him to just bite his lip and let events unfold for a while. Because events are driving this campaign, and it's still too early for autumn speeches. At some point, though, he will need to make some dramatic break with Bush on the war. He'll reach the point where he'll have to be a real Democrat.

"He does appear to be very cautious. But he wins. Look at the primaries. He somehow seems to know what to do at the moment he needs to do it."

Defenders say that, as a Senate candidate, he frequently suffered mid-campaign meltdowns, only to close the deal and win at the buzzer. As Dan Payne, a state Democratic strategist said: "He's a guy who doesn't really start to pay attention until he thinks he may be in danger of dying."

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/8643822.htm?1c

[DrFunkenstein]

1. Early New Yorker Piece On Kerry's Political Timing

Weld figured that his issues—crime, welfare reform, and tax cutting—and his charm would see him through, but mostly his charm. "John isn't really a cold person, but he does seem aloof," Weld said recently. "The truth is that he's courtly to the point of gentility. We were pummelling him through August, but his campaign turned on a dime when Bob Shrum was hired as his consultant. It went from flaccid to sharp in a week."

Kerry's aides insist that it was more than Shrum. They say that Kerry was distracted in Washington, that he didn't really focus on the campaign until the Senate recessed. "It wasn't a lack of focus," Kerry says. "It was a strategy. I figured people wouldn't really be paying attention until the fall debates."

The last four debates were fabulous political theatre—two very smart men having at each other. "John's at his best under pressure, when he's being seriously challenged," Paul Nace, an old Navy friend, says. "He gets really cool, very calm. He really is a warrior—he just loves it. I took one look at him as he was walking into Faneuil Hall for one of the last debates and I thought, Bill Weld has no idea what's about to hit him."

Weld—who calls the debates a "bloody draw"—says that Kerry successfully attached him to the national Republican Party. (Weld had said some embarrassingly positive things about Newt Gingrich two years earlier.) "The turning point came when he asked me if I'd vote to keep Jesse Helms as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That was a killer."

I asked Weld how he responded. "I ducked it, of course," he said, with a smile. "I mean, I hated Jesse Helms. But what could I do?"

Kerry won the election by eight percentage points. "John has always been underestimated politically," Marttila says. "But that race had the quality and intensity of a Presidential campaign, and he won. I don't see how they can underestimate him anymore, but they probably will."

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?021202fa_fact1

[Frances]

2. Kerry is right to be cautious

The focus is on Bush and Rumsfeld and that's where it should be

He did say that there were other people who could do Rumsfeld's job better than Rumsfeld

That is exactly the right approach in my opinion

[lancdem]

3. Zogby is right. Kerry will make a move when he needs to

Everyone should read that Andrew Kohut article you posted from today's N.Y. Times. It's not yet time for voters to turn to the challenger. They're in the process of souring on Bush now. Kerry's time will come.

[Nicholas_J]

7. When you think of the fact

That Kerry was polling at 6 PERCENT during the last two weeks of December,while Dean was polling in the upper 40's to lower 50's and by the date of the Iowa caucuses, Kerry had reversed that situation, I beleive that there should be enoough faith in Kerry's campaigning abilities to not question his tactics or anything he is doing at the present.

I saw Kerry discussing this during an interview the other day, being asked abotu the concern that he is not doing anything agressive against Bush, and his three word answer was "Its too early".

And it is.

[BeatleBoot]

4. Kerry's in better shape than Reagan was

when Reagan beat Carter in a landslide.

This "the party is worrying" stuff is simply an attempt to stir up some phony controversy.

Kerry's doing the right thing.

Like Napoleon said, "never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake".

[fujiyama]

5. It's a good idea

for him not to look like he's taking advantage of the mess. That would definetely not play well with voters.

I think Zogby's correct. He will have to make a dramatic departure with Bush on the situation in due time.

[Claire Beth]

6. Kerry is playing clever...

they are running a very smart campaign.

[Mountainman]

8. No one can say what to do until after June 30

The whole dynamic of the war will change if there is an attempt at a hand over. To make statements today that will be meaningless a few months from now is not smart.

Bush is digging his own grave. Kerry only needs to hand him the shovel.

[prana]

9. *lol* at the Napoleon quote

And I must confess I was one of the Dems going "Where, oh where is our guy? Why isn't he screaming at the top of his lungs over this?!" (What can I say, I'm a talkative sort). But after reading this post I feel better. After all, Bush's national approval rating has dropped 10 points in the last week (that's a free fall if you ask me) and it seems to me it's better to let the man take care of destroying himself than offering a sideshow.