Have we not learned anything from the past?

[uconnyc]

I don't mean to rain on people's parade but all this talk about the election being in the bag, etc. is just silly.

So many things can happen from now until November. Plus I'm sure the right wing has a couple of tricks up their sleeves.

There is also the Republican convention and the debates. Many undecided Americans use the debates to decide on a candidate. And as we all know, with the extremely low expectations people have for *, Kerry needs to pretty much be flawless to "win" the debate.

As we've seen with Dukakis, Gore, Clelalnd, etc. the right wing will put all the punches to win.

[meti57b]

1. I have to agree with you. republicans aren't in business to lose elections

[Zynx]

2. There won't be low expectations for Bush in these next debates.

This is entirely different than 2000. He is the incumbent president of the United States of America and I doubt people will have the same low standard where they just wanted him to speak in complete sentences in 2000. Kerry will arguably have an easier job meeting expectations. In a debate between an incumbent and a challenger, the challanger must prove that they are competent and not much else. Notice how Reagan in 1980 did that and more and went on to crush Carter. If the challenger looks more presidential than the president, that is bad news for the president.

[depakid]

3. I think you're right about the debates

Bush is in a very similar predicament with respect to a lagging economy and an ongoing fiasco in the Middle East- and a lot of people have Bush fatigue. They're tired of his smirking shtick, just as they were sick of Carter's innapropriate smiles.

Kerry has the same opportunity to deliver the sort of stinging one liners that Reagan did with "there he goes again," and display the sort of same sort of confidence in his rhetoric. Whether he'll do that and seal the deal, or whether he'll be collegial and legitimize Bush remains to be seen.

One thing for certain, I hope Kerry has enough sense to hire a good debate coach, and leave timid Tad Devine out of it.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Kerry should address the Low Expectations spin directly before the debate

Kerry should say something like "The Republicans would like there to be low expectations for my opponent's performance in the debates, much like they set them in 2000. However, Americans today have high expectations for their commander in chief."

Torpedo the "low expectations" meme now.

[blondeatlast]

6. YES!!!

:yourock:

[blondeatlast]

4. It's the MEDIA, people.

We've got to hit hard at the media, even if it means that we often are bashing our heads against walls. Don't think for a moment that they will get any tougher on W; even if they do (yeah, sure), we can't let up on them.

Right now, the election is all about the swing voters and it will continue to be. They don't get their info from DU or that other place on the opposite side (the one that can't be mentioned); they get it from CNN, MSNBC, Faux News, and Scaife's papers.

We have to be vigilant--writing LTTE, organizing protests against unfair coverage, spreading the word on our own.

Those buzzwords ("turning the corner, flip-flop" etc) work, unfortunately. We need to work on a few of our own.