I hope Kerry has an october surprise--I must admit I'm worried

[ncteechur]

but not as much about Kerry-I think he has done a good job. I'm worried about the voters. I believe the basic problem is the repubs are better at dumbing down their message. Dems are not. Molly Ivins had a great piece posted on Buzzflash regarding the simplicity of *. The GOP knows how to play to the uninformed voter. Is Kerry smarter? Yes. Does Kerry know how to better prosecute the war on terror? yes. But unfortunately people think he is pompous and too smart. And joe voter that ony wants to kick someone's ass doesn't want a president who is too smart. I don't know. Are they afraid Kerry or any smart candidate will push through legislation they don't understand. I don't get it. I think that if the American dumbasses vote for * they deserve him, but I don't deserve him and neither does anyone who gives a real informed shit about this country.
A budy and I were discussing how the GOP has cornered the religious right for better or worse. They know that if they come across as "Christian" they can do anything else they want to and the right will still tote their water. Like it or not it is smart of them.
My other big concern is how the GOP will steal the election. I do believe that they would go back to the Supreme Court all over again and get handed the election. Yes the left would kick up a fuss but it would pass. The GOP has more patience and knows how to ride out a negative storm.
If Kerry loses, the DNC will have to do some serious soul searching. The answer is not to blame Kerry--it is not his fault.
The answer is to blame ourselves for not having a common message and appealing to all voters.

[Rose Siding]

1. Sadly, Bush appeals "to those who want relief from thinking"

I just read this and it is appropriate-

snip>
When Bush lies, he is not . . . addressing people who read news or who think or who look for sense in the world. He is speaking to those who want relief from thinking, from hard decisions, from complex judgments; he's speaking to those who want a likable authority to take care of the hard stuff. He's speaking to the "my president, right or wrong" folks. He's speaking to those whose need for reassurance trumps the need for truth.

In fact, when Bush lies, he's not speaking at all. He's repeating the "empty utterances" of Rove's carefully crafted message.

I pray Kerry's handlers help him understand that the debate will have little to do with content, and everything to do with crafting the impression of an alternate "dad" whose aggression and firmness can fulfill fantasies of retaliation and imaginary protective safety.

http://www.warandpiece.com/

[elfwitch]

2. If Kerry loses...

they might as well pack up the DNC and mothball it. This election is SO important that if it is lost, there will be no need for a DNC in four years because there will be no more elections.

[southern democrat]

3. Don't worry too much.

They did all this shit to Gore and he still got way more votes,altough not all were counted.I believe Kerry has got a better team than Gore had and Bush's record speaks for itself.America has never elected a president 35 days before an election.We will be just fine.Today Kerry is realistically 2-3% behind shrub.To be this close is great.By election day he will have momentum and be ahead.

[ncteechur]

4. I hope you are right. I can't live through another 4 years of shithead

[tedoll78]

5. A pep talk:

Sure, today's news (the polling BS, the Ohio voting scandal..) is annoying and nagging at all of us. But I'm still pretty confident.

State polling often trails national polling. Kerry saw an uptick in the last week in national polling, and now he's beginning to see that uptick in the state polling (14% lead in WA, for example). Kerry looks as though he'll retain all of the Gore states and New Hampshire, which means that he'd only need 6 more EVs. Sure, Wisconsin looks close, but it was also close last time. If it's tied on Election Day, Kerry will most likely win it. Many polls in 2000 had Gore behind in key states, and he still pulled-off victories in most of them.

Then there are the tales of voter registration efforts. When we see that we've done better in terms of newly-registered voters, we can conclude one definite thing: our ground game this year is MUCH stronger. This is key, as the GOP traditionally holds an advantage on this element of electioneering. If we get turnout results on Election Day comparable to the newly-registered voter results, I don't think we'll have to worry about hanging chads..

And we already know how the polling is slanted. If you were to reweight the poll from ABC, Kerry would actually be leading within the margin of error. And there's no way on earth that Nader is going to get anywhere near 5% - much of that will go to Kerry as well.

The theocrats want us demoralized, but they're themselves scared. They see the success we've had on the ground this year. They see that we're matching them dollar-for-dollar. And they know we're energized. And just like their "fearless leader," they're in denial of the inevitable.

[Leilani]

8. Glad for the pep talk

But Edwards is campaigning in New Jersey...

That says more to me than any poll, any talking head, any news article, any TV show....

[gennifer6]

6. Immaturity makes Bush-believers

it's maturity issue, folks, really....people who don't read newspapers, stay informed about goings-on outside their own backyard, keep it "simple", those people haven't learned enough about being alive to understand that life and the world isn't "simple"....their experiences haven't taught them anything, either that or they refuse to see what life has been trying to teach them.

[AuntPatsy]

9. I disagree, it's "Fear" that has made Bush Believers, nothing else

could possibly account for such lunacy and from some intelligent people too..

[rfkrocks]

7. If we lose we have to be ready to bail the country out again

the bush economy will destroy the fabric of the nation-the debt will come due and the social safety net which is already unfunded will fail in bigger ways-the DNC will be the least of our worries and don't forget the disaster in IRAQ

[dave502d]

10. october surprise

Bill Clinton!!!

[DemFromMem]

11. draft

I find it hard to believe that the DOD is NOT planning for a draft (I'm talking more than what we already know) and I also think it would be hard to keep that totally under wraps. If the Kerry folks had the goods on this, you would want to drop that little bomb in mid-October.

Did anyone else hear Powell on Meet the Press yesterday say

"POWELL: There are no plans for a draft...uuuh...at least President Bush has no plans for a draft."?

I saw that reported on Americablog. But ABC did not have a transcript on its site.

[AnIndependentTexan]

12. watch, read, and see. John Kerry October Surprise

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x908290

[ncteechur]

13. I'll watch it and you'll watch it but will undecided voters watch it?

[AnIndependentTexan]

14. they can because it will be on DVD and maybe they can get it on tv

[shivaji]

15. I am NOT worried. This is why we nominated Mr. Electable!!

Voters were smart to pick Kerry out of the pack running
for dem nomination.