Posted on 08/29/2004 3:56:22 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob
It was a bittersweet pleasure to go on-air Friday for two hours with my friend Jerry Agar, WPTF afternoon drivetime, from Raleigh to most of North Carolina and parts of states north and south of there. This was our last sit-down, since Jerry is moving to KMBZ in Kansas City, a larger market that wants a quick, intelligent voice from the conservative side of the spectrum.
We spent 45 minutes of our time talking about the Swift Boat controversy involving John Kerry. The phones lit up, and so did the computer screen with e-mails. Both the calls and the e-mails represented all sides of the issue. On a quality talk show, the host (and guest) can have strong opinions, but those who disagree will still call and write, confident they will get a fair hearing.
There’s a whole lot of common sense and plain unvarnished reality among the listeners to any intelligent, articulate radio talk show. That leads me to suggest an amendment to the Constitution to improve the quality of future presidential candidates. Of course we want candidates who are honest, intelligent and dedicated – regardless of their politics or party. But there just isn’t a way to test for such things.
Here’s a test that could serve as a surrogate. Pass a constitutional amendment that no one could run for President until he or she had done 30 hours on major talk shows located anywhere except inside the Washington Beltway. No matter whether the host is liberal or conservative, all talk shows of any popularity have a sub-base of contrarian listeners and participants.
In the town meeting events held by presidential candidates, producers usually screen participants to avoid difficult questions from cantankerous people. But talk shows (unless the producer/editor on the phones is both stupid and dishonest) will have a range of callers. And the Good Lord knows that the subjects raised will vary all over the lot. When I began in talk radio in 1968 with Chuck Boyles on WBAL in Baltimore, the strangest type of calls on odd subjects were referred to as “cat-up-a-tree calls.” Anyway, a presidential candidate who faced 30 hours of calls from ordinary citizens would have to display grace, intelligence, knowledge, and a measure of courage. Those aren’t exactly bad characteristics for anyone who would be President.
And if John Kerry had ever dealt with an electronic roomful of ordinary Americans like that, he might not have made the fatal planning error that has doomed his run for office this year. The callers to Jerry Agar’s Show last Friday would have given Kerry better advice than he gave himself, or than he got from his high-priced consultants.
Most, but not all, of the veterans who contacted Jerry’s show last Friday were harshly opposed to John Kerry for what he did in Vietnam, but especially for what he said once he returned home. Equally important were calls from people who never served in the military, and were heavily anti-war. One man said that he was “in the demonstrations during the 1968 Democratic Convention.” I remember those beatings and gassings from watching them on TV. From self-validating details, I believe that gentleman was where he said he was, and did what he said he did.
The fascinating aspect is that the anti-war caller and one of the veterans actually agreed on this point – both would have supported Kerry if he had returned from Vietnam and attacked just the political leaders who were conducting the Vietnam War. Neither of those gentlemen are supporting John Kerry for President now, precisely because of his attacks on the individual American servicemen when he returned.
There are two dispositive factors about the issues in any election. The first is obvious: how many people agree with your (you, the candidate’s) position on an issue, as opposed to how many disagree. But in an era where voter turnout will again be slightly more than half, the other factor can be more important. That factor is intensity. How strong are the feelings of your supporters, compared to the strengths of the opposition?
Stronger supporters of a candidate, or of the issues of a candidate, are more likely to turn out and vote, more likely to give money or time, more likely to encourage others to vote the same way, etc. The passion and dedication of the veterans who believe John Kerry is unfit to command are far ahead of the passion and dedication of the fewer veterans who believe Kerry is fit to be President. That single difference, in my opinion, means that John Kerry’s campaign is now dead, and by his own hand.
Here’s why: There are about eight million veterans of the Vietnam era, about half having served in country. In addition, there are about 16 million veterans of other eras, living today. These 24 million men, and some women, live in every city, town and hamlet. They work in every business, organization, and civic association. They are members of almost every family in the United States. Among these veterans, support for George Bush was just 4% more than for John Kerry, before the Swift Boat Vets for Truth began their advertising campaign. Today, the Bush margin among veterans has grown to about 24%, or almost 2-1 over Kerry (62-38).
I spent Saturday visiting with Randy Wootton, a lifelong friend who has a marketing firm in Atlanta. We talked about what Kerry did wrong in the planning of his campaign -- the Vietnam ploy. We discussed the most powerful form of communication for or against any product, service, or candidate. In the trade it’s called “viral communications.” Us ordinary folks refer to that as word of mouth. If ordinary people start telling their friends and neighbors to “go see this movie” or “go vote for this candidate,” then that movie or that candidate will soon be in high cotton. But viral communications also can work negatively. A movie, candidate, whatever, which is bad-mouthed person to person cannot be salvaged by advertising and pronouncements at the national and public level. That is Kerry’s position right now.
And it gets worse. When A tells B about a movie, one person’s opinion has no greater value than another’s. But what happens when the subject is the military service of a candidate for President? If A is a military veteran, giving his opinion to B who is not a veteran, THAT word of mouth will be even more effective than usual.
As a friend of mine said in an e-mail at 2 a.m. last Wednesday, this is now a “water cooler election.” George Bush, as the incumbent President, is a known commodity. The last equation in this election is whether John Kerry is seen as fit, or unfit, to replace Bush, among those voters who already think that a change might be in order. At the grassroots level, the word is spreading like wildfire that Kerry is unfit (at a 2-1 rate) to independent and undecided voters.
What if Senator Kerry had called a press conference three years ago to announce that he had “made some mistakes” in his service in Vietnam and later in his testimony before Senator Fullbright’s Committee on returning home? What if Kerry had given examples of those mistakes at that conference? The press would have largely ignored that conference, because after all, “Who still cares about Vietnam?” Kerry, who knew then that he intended to run for President in 2004, could have turned this entire subject into “old news.”
But apparently Kerry had already decided, along with his high-powered, top-dollar, experienced advisors, that he was going to feature his Vietnam experience. Rather than set it aside and deal with more recent subjects, Kerry decided to hang his campaign hat on his four months and 12 days on Swift Boats in Vietnam. His representatives forced that subject into the speeches of most people at the Democratic Convention. Kerry himself slammed the point home from his opening salute to the final paragraphs of his speech accepting the nomination. When John Kerry sat down after that speech, his campaign was already doomed to defeat.
When the Captain of the Titanic ordered 21 knots in the North Atlantic where icebergs had been reported, his ship was doomed. When General Lee ordered Pickett’s charge into the center of the Union lines at Gettysburg, his cause was doomed. If you prefer examples that involve the death of ambitions, rather than human beings, try these: When the Coca-Cola Company introduced “New Coke,” the effort was doomed before the first ads ran. Or when Gary Hart told the press, “You can follow me,” his campaign was doomed.
In every instance, the questions the person in charge failed to ask and answer were these: What’s the worst that can happen to me and my cause? And, how can I avoid that fate? Kerry failed to ask and answer those questions. And now his candidacy is doomed by an insolvable, self-created problem.
In each Presidential Election, I predict the outcome as soon as I am reasonably confident of it. Yes, alert readers will point out with amusement that I’ve done that once before in 2004. Before the Iowa Primary, I looked at Howard Dean’s unusual and successful organization, at his fund-raising, and at the nature of the Democratic voters there and in New Hampshire. I concluded Dean would win both states, cruise to his party’s nomination, and then get trounced by George Bush. But enough about my former triumphs as a prognosticator.
It isn’t necessary to wait until the end of the Republican Convention to make this year’s predictions. Bush will have a 5% lead after the Convention. That will increase to 10% by November 2, and the Electoral College results will be a landslide for Bush. At the same time, the Republicans will gain 2 seats in the Senate, and 11 seats in the House.
Outside Washington, Republicans will gain one Governorship, 121 seats in the various state legislatures, and a substantial number of other state and local offices. Lastly, all these specific predictions are minimums. Any results that don’t match my predictions should be greater than my numbers. If not, label me wrong again. And you won’t have to phone me up; I’ll call the fouls on myself.
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About the Author: John Armor is a civil rights attorney who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. CongressmanBillybob@earthlink.net
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John / Billybob
Ditto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As one who got spat on (In the San Francisco airport), and I wasn't even "in country", I do take it personally.
But, but, he DOES have "Presidential Hair".
Very good analysis. But there are two things overlooked, but I don't really blame you as your wordspace is limited.
First, John Edwards poured the gas on the smoldering embers when he challenged voters to spend three minutes with any of the men who served with Ketchup Boy in Vietnam. The Swifties took him up on that challenge, and it blew up in the RATS faces.
Second, Kerry actually did jump a shark. It was Christmas Day, 1968, and he was windsurfing with a few plumbers and carpenters on the Mekong, about 5 miles inside Cambodia.
Your comment fits my belief that having a "lap dog" media is not necessarily a good thing for a party.
If the media is on your side, you get lazy and careless.
I would think the Democratic Party would be in better shape today (and closer to the views of middle America) if the media was "fair".
To those in the main stream media "the end justifies the means", they have no trouble supporting corrupt and flawed men as long as they say and do the right thing.
The media's hostilities towards Republicans just means they are more likely to be honest (since if they were not, they would be exposed to the world).
So my theory is that the love affair the MSM has with the Democrats is what will destroy them in the end.
May it occur sooner rather then later.
Nice write-up, John.
Jonah
Is this dispositive ?
Great column, and I hope you predictions work out. Your prediction of a Bush victory is as solid as bedrock, IMHO.
I second Stentor. I've focused so much on the evils he did to our fighting men that it never occurred to me how acceptable it would have been had he gone after Nixon and Johnson, rather than smearing the American fighting man and the American nation itself.
One last comment: When you see this same point in my column later this week, please don't think I stole it from you!
Ever since I started reading my copy of "The New Soldier," I've been thinking every time I came across some atrocity, "They're saying my Uncle Del mowed down women and children with his door gun and reported them as VC kills? They're saying my Dad's firehouse buddies cut people's ears off to earn some freakin' badge? They're saying Mr. Stephenson would have stood around and done nothing while female prisoners were raped and tortured to death by other Marines? They're saying my troop support rally buddies did this stuff?" So I'm going to ask my readers, "Take a look at your Vietnam vet. Do you believe these things about him? John Kerry did, or he knew they were innocent and said it anyway."
Kerry's biggest problem is not that he sold people out and slandered them. His problem is that there were so many he did it to, and all of them are somebody's boss or buddy or brother or Grandpa. He will not survive this. It's conceivable he won't even be a Senator after the next Senatorial election.
Congratulations on the new arrival.
We had fun Freeping here in Fayetteville on Saturday.
Congratulations---and yeah, right, sure. :)
John / Billybob
Thanks
The main reason is that the leftist media - all the major networks, CNN, and major leftist rags are working absolutely endlessly to get this dork elected.
Meanwhile, we have millions of sheeple who don't have a clue who the Vice President is, and couldn't spell Kerry's name if they were asked how...but will vote him.
I was in the Navy from 1971 to 1973. Like Kerry, I went where they sent me although it wasn't Vietnam. I was never physically reviled although I travelled many times in uniform. In those days we could fly "military reserve" at near "stand-by" prices, but we could never be bumped. The caveat was we had to wear our uniforms while flying.
Still, I had more than my share of discussions with those that considered me sub-human. Yet that isn't even my point although I, too, took it personally.
I simply don't think Kerry denigrated only the puppeteers. He colored the entire military with the Lt. Calley brush. This wasn't just in his senate testimony, it was the whole Winter Soldier program from Detroit to the Senate to Meet the Press to Dick Cavett. When you put it all together, his actions were despicable. The thing of it is is that wouldn't change even if he gets elected which I doubt he will.
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