If it was possible to feel sorry for Bush...

[troublemaker]

Bush = Nazi Religious Nut
Kerry = Pussified Communist

Those are the darkest comic book fears swing voters have about the two men. (of course one is more accurate than the other) During the home-stretch each man will have to act against type to reassure voters on the fence, so over the next 68 days Bush needs to be more sensitive and sane while Kerry needs to act more like Jesus H. Hitler.

In a race that starts tied I'll take the guy who actually helps his image by being brutal and one dimensional. Every Bush attack is an opportunity for Kerry to be a real prick, and passing the "real prick" test is an honest-to-god threshold in American Presidential politics. (related article: http://www.nypress.com/print.cfm?content_id=10369)

By demolishing all possible standards of campaign decency Bush has now empowered Kerry to cut loose at a time that Bush will not be able to respond without looking CRAZY.

Analogy: An old-style duel where one man fires and misses and then has to stand there while the other guy aims at leisure.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Bush has lowered the bar for the rules of engagement.

The Repubs' standards for political conduct are now so low that Kerry can open up a huge can of whoop-ass on them without seeming to be gutter-crawling.

[gulliver]

2. Wait until the audience wants the attack.

I remember reading that a basic rule of rhetoric is that you can only attack your opponent when the audience wants you to. Kerry has gotten some sand kicked in his face by Bush already. Bush opened with the flip-flopper attack and did it personally. Bush's people are attacking Kerry's record in the Senate. Bush's Swift Boat Vets are smack in the sewer, covered in filth.

I agree with you that Kerry could score big by "cutting loose" on Bush. Notice Bush has already hit Kerry with the "losing his cool" meme, maybe trying to keep Kerry from successfully hitting a note of righteous anger.

Kerry showed some anger over the SBVTs, but it wasn't the fierce kind one would like to see someone have at their disposal in the event of another terrorist attack.

(Of course Bush practically cried like a baby the day after 9/11 in the Oval Office on live television. Very comforting.)

[northstar]

3. Ehm, well....the 'Dean (fabricated out-of-proportion) Scream

Didn't seem to do very much for Howard Dean's chances at the Dem nomination. This is 'risky advice' at best, imho.

Btw, I believe that your analogy is a good one, but not sure it will 'play' in the 21st century.