Good rundown, as usual, about the sKerry campaign now. That sKerry has to work on his base now has to be a great source of depression for that campaign, and they know how very easy it is to turn large segments against him. Take the black voters, for instance, or the young voters. In both cases sKerry has been attempting to walk a tight rope. This explains his difficulty, touting "civil rights leader" while opposing voucher/religious interest since he has to keep his union teachers. His 'don't privatize SS' in the other scare tactic to keep older voters turns off the younger voters who clearly benefit from being able to do their own investing, so he has to bring out the "Bush will draft you" stupid lie to try to keep them.
The sKerry campaign is a real mess, but an honest assessment reveals that is only a window on the mess the Demodogs have with their "base".
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If the issue is not the economy, Democrats can't do well becuase they can't take a position on any issue except the economy.
A democratic candidate can't please working class parents and the school teachers union at the same time. Democrata can't please union members and farmers at the same time.
They can't please lesbians, feminists, and working class americans at the same time. They can't please the military and the media at the same time.
That is the problem for John Kerry.
The Democratis party is not united on issues. There are no issues in the 2004 race that all factions fo the Democrati party agree upon. Kerry either has to flip and flop depening on the group he is addressing, or he has to remain silent on the most important issues of the day.
If the economy is not the main issue Democrats get beat.