Posted on 08/23/2004 7:47:32 PM PDT by hansel
THE WORD IN REPUBLICAN CIRCLES [08/23 02:41 PM] Just chatted with a high-ranking Republican tuned in to the Bush campaign. A couple of highlights: * The idea that the Swift Boat Vets ads’ could boomerang on Bush is wishful thinking. Smart Democrats understand there’s nothing good about this for John Kerry. * The Bush campaign isn’t worried that the Swift Boat Vets’ message will step on President Bush’s message during the convention. * Despite Josh Marshall’s charges, Bob Dole wasn’t “sent out” by the Bush campaign. The campaign offered to brief him on some issues, and he turned it down. “Bob Dole doesn’t let anybody tell Bob Dole what to do,” the high-ranking Republican said, using the exact third-person style that Dole himself would use. * The Republican also wasn’t impressed with Kerry’s efforts to urge television stations not to run the Swift Boats’ ad, wondering how loud the cries of outrage would have been if the Bush campaign had tried to prevent “Fahrenheit 9/11” from running in theaters.
“Bob Dole doesn’t let anybody tell Bob Dole what to do,” the high-ranking Republican said, using the exact third-person style that Dole himself would use."
Does this mean that that was Bob Dole, himself?
Why not?
> The idea that the Swift Boat Vets ads’ could
> boomerang on Bush is wishful thinking.
The exact wording on the DNC talking points FAX in the last
24 hours is apparently:
"This {the SBVFT} could be dangerous for Bush"
Watch for it coming out of a talking head near you.
I was thinking that they might. I was a little surprised by this.
David Gergen used nearly these exact words on Chrissy Mathews show tonight (just a few hours ago).
This is interesting. I had read that some "smart" (??) democrats had tried to talk Kerry out of using Vietnam in the campaign, but he went ahead with it, making him the architect of his own demise!
>> The Bush campaign isn’t worried that the Swift Boat
>> Vets’ message will step on President Bush’s message
>> during the convention.
> Why not?
Because they are distinct messages and issues.
The RNC is probably going to say exactly zero about
Kerry's war record, and even his post-war treasons.
The progressive propagandist press, of course, will
seek any news negative to Bush that week, but the
Swiftboat & treason issue is getting tougher and
tougher for them to even bring up, so they may have
to just cover the convention.
Kerry, of course, may claim that "he wanted to remain
silent out of convention tradition", but the SBVFT
attacks force him to respond. We'll see.
thanks for the post
its the second ad, the one running this week (??) showing his congressional testimony - that I believe has zero potential downside for Bush. What's Kerry going to say about that?
And also, what is Bush going to say when asked about ad #2 - he certainly can't chime in and support what Kerry was saying, trashing all those veterans as "genghis khan" types.
wondering how loud the cries of outrage would have been if the Bush campaign had tried to prevent “Fahrenheit 9/11” from running in theaters.
And then put him on your team at the convention. Hypocracy in motion here.
What a low-life Gergen is.
Spent some time around the Kerry/Edwards press flacks yesterday. They sounded disorganized and on the defensive. There were no specific comments on the swift vets issues, but they were complaining about how the campaign had stopped on a dime in the middle of the week and they had to start planning new events quickly.
Edwards spent the first 5 minutes of his speech excouriating President Bush and the swift vets. The campaign trooped eight vets for Kerry on stage before Edwards spoke, but one was a well known local Democrat activist and another had come in from out of state and a third who I spoke with was clearly a dedicated Dem.
I'm always amazed at how coordinated the Democrats remarks are, even down to the guy in the street.
They always say almost the exact same things. These people are really weird. Now I can understand the talking points being useful to a talking head but isn't it amazing how the guy in the street picks up on it.
David Gergen used nearly these exact words on Chrissy Mathews show tonight (just a few hours ago).
Gergen was one of those intellectuals who chimed in with just about the same sentiments regarding President Reagan's handling of the (former) U.S.S.R.
I'm sure he's a nice enough guy, but he really needs to stop impressing us with his keen mind.
Gergen was nearly three weeks behind the curve. We had a number of posters right here in River City who said that the day first ad was released.
Kerry has three major fronts he has to defend. What he did in Vietnam, what he did in 1971, and his pitiful record on defense. He faces three distinct threats.
The Swift Boat Vets can attack his service in Vietnam.
The POWs (and other veterans) can attack what he did in 1971.
President Bush can attack his record on defense.
These three groups don't need to be working together, just smart enough to watch what the other one does, and read the cues to work the timing. Each group has strengths and weaknesses that could be negated if fought one on one, but all three will cause Kerry to hemhorrage support in quantities he can't afford.
Kerry doesn't have the time, money, credibility, skill, or ability to defend himself from three competent attackers. Kerry's strategy appears to try and blur the lines between the three groups (so he could fight them as one), but this effort will fail with most voters. As much as the mainstream media will try and cover for him, they'll cut him loose at the last second before the election, to maintain their 'credibility'.
IMHO, Kerry has been torpedoed below the waterline. The initial explosions were impressive, but the secondary effects will sink the ship.
Of all the bloviating high pontificators in Washington, David Gergen is one of the worst. It would break a snake's back to follow his trail. He never speaks in anything but platitudes, has never written a book that many people wanted to read and 40 years from now will be completely forgotten. His prognostications are never fulfilled. You wonder why he gets air time.
Plus the media and Kerry is trying to spin this as coming from the RNC.
The more and more the Swiftboat veterans get heard and seen the more it will become obvious that this is about their hatred for Kerry and has nothing to do with President Bush.
That's what has them so scared they know if it's not about politics the media can't protect them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.