Kerry and Kennedy. Between them, they're a perfect 10. BTW, I think Ted's moved past the "C" cup stage.
Posted on 08/31/2004 11:07:03 AM PDT by george wythe
Things couldn't look better for George W. Bush. Even before the Republican National Convention began, the president had started to register a bounce in the polls—coinciding with the successful Swift boat attacks on John Kerry's character. Bush has accomplished what no one would have dreamed of in July. He has forced Kerry to build his campaign around Vietnam and events that occurred more than 30 years ago, while Bush has deftly wrapped himself in 9-11 and is fighting today's real-time war on terror.
At the Time Warner media gala over the weekend, James Carville blew up at the mention of Kerry's campaign: "They're a perpetual committee listening to aperpetual focus group, and it's got to change," Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post quoted Carville as saying.
(Excerpt) Read more at villagevoice.com ...
Why was the Kerry campaign caught so unprepared? Why such a clumsy reaction?
Did the Kerry campaign expect the old media to cover up this story?
To some extent, his anti-war activities had come out during every campaign he ran in Massachusetts. The media probably did come to he rescue and his whiny responses probably won sympathy.
I suspect he thought he could ignore the Swift Vets and they would go away. Or he could stop distribution of the book and airing of the ads.
He was unprepared for the grass roots interest.
Also, there is the Hillary factor. The mainstream media is not protecting him but subtlety stabbing him in the back. Hillary wants to run in 2008.
The Kerry campaign is not very sophisticated and not very accustomed to opposition. They suffer a high degree of arrogance, at least Kerry and Heinz-Kerry do.
Did the Kerry campaign expect the old media to cover up this story?
FR Exclusive: AP SPIKES JOHN O'NEILL - SWIFT BOAT VETS STORY
May 4, 2004
I think this author's right in that Nader votes are going to increase as a result of Kerry's implosion.
Unbelievable. AP was shameless:
A spokeswoman for the AP stated that the wire service had sent a reporter to cover the press conference. However, she said the AP decided against running a news article about it because, "It does not further the anti-Kerry Vietnam veteran story any."
Yeppir, they did. And the old media tried. They huffed and they puffed and they demagogued and they declared the SBV liars. But the REAL SBVets didn't back down from the Viet Cong, and they ain't backin down from George Stephanopoulas, aka Bill Clinton's fluff boy.
Kerry and Kennedy are hiding away in their ivory tower fiddling away while Rome burns around them.
Kerry could care less. In two months he will be comfortably back in his Senate seat doing what he does best. Absolutely nothing.
The funny thing? His constituency will keep on voting for him.
It's Bush's fault that Kerry choose suc a disasterous campaign strategy.....
That line jumped out at me, too.
I guess Kerry was against building his campaign around Vietnam before he was for it.
The transcript of their debate on the Dick Cavet show in 1971 is a must read for all Americans who care about truth and character: http://www2.swiftvets.com/index.php?topic=KerryONeill
I don't see how he can fire himself
Kerry and Kennedy. Between them, they're a perfect 10. BTW, I think Ted's moved past the "C" cup stage.
HUH??? Nobody forced Kerry to make Viet Nam an issue except Kerry. In fact, he went against sound advice from both sides of the aisle.
His arrogance has been & will continue to be his enemy. That is something he will never be able to change because it is what he is.
Great cartoon, says it all about skerry.
Have you seen the latest?
Lawrence Kudlow's column on 08-30-2004 said the Swifties are picking up a 527 sponsor, a group who has raised more than 25 million. It now appears the new 527 group is Progress for America.
http://www.progressforamerica.com/pfa/
If this proves true, Kerry's problems with the SBVfT has just taken a quantum leap for the worse.
Irregardless, let us all keep on giving to the SBVfT.
That's really their problem. At least someone is smart enough to see it for what it is.
Rrriiiggghtttt..... Your candidate spent less time talking about his 20 years in the Senate than he did his 4 months in 'nam at his OWN convention because Bush "forced him" too?
How weak is that?
Typical Bush lie - it was really 4 months.
I find great satisfaction knowing the Jean Fraude is banking on Bush (Tell them to quit!) to pull his fat out of the fire.
Kerry served in Vietnam? Why didn't he tell anybody!
The Democrats thought they were toast from the get-go, because as much as they despise Bush and everything he stands for (i.e. politically successful conservativism), he is in fact, a successful wartime President, and this country is in fact, at war. That's why Hillary Clinton, and other "smart" Democrats are sitting this one out.
Kerry's only real goal has been to do everything possible to stem the political bleeding. Yeah, the Democrats are dying to win in 2004, but they'd just as soon not lose a half dozen Senate and three dozen more House seats. If Kerry can keep the Dem team "even" in Congress, a lot of serious Democrats would have given him credit for being a real trooper.
Somewhere along the way, however, the Democrat "core" supporters got the idea that Kerry could in fact, beat a weakened Republican President. With the Islamic insurgents reemerging in Iraq, those dead American boys just might serve a "useful purpose", from the perspective of the average Democrat. They sold themselves emotionally on the fact that Kerry could win.
Now, Kerry's slide is like sudden whiplash. Not only are they likely to lose against Bush ("again..omg!!!"), the potential for a rout in Congress is appearing on the not too distant horizon. The prospect of Bush with a 60 seat majority in the Senate, almost 2/3's majority in Congress, and holding a true, unassailable majority in every political category, is simply going to unnerve the Democrat rank and file.
The lines between "serious Democrat" and "left-wing-fanatic" are about to merge. It's going to get really, extraordinarily ugly. There will be a Democrat "October surprise" to derail Bush, even if the Democrats have to make it up out of whole cloth (e.g. Bush's gay lover of 20 years comes out...", or "new report from European intelligence agencies reveal contact between Cheny and Bin Laden in August 2001 .. Cheny flew Air Force jet to Paris for the meeting..", etc., 2 days before the election). If this trend continues, you're about to see some well known people on the Left side of the isle become seriously psychotic.
What's more, if a Bush landslide sweep's Congress, you'll see a large number of retirements in the Democrat ranks. The Democrats will be buried for years until the Pubbies, predictably, have their own civil war, and a new, more conservative Democrat party emerges from the entrails of the DNC and Liberal GOP'ers. Remember, that the reason the "moderate" GOPers have any clout at all as an extreme minority in the Republican party, is because the electorate is (or appears to be) closely divided politically. If the GOP emerges predominant, the clout of the liberal GOPers will be marginalized. When they can't call the tune anymore, can't blackmail themselves into choice committee assignments, and get other perks, realignment with the minority, newly "centrist" Democrats will look pretty good.
So, that's my call -- right now. Bush wins. The GOP sweeps in Congress, and Bush has a two year "honeymoon" to push his priorities though. In 2006, Democrat "centrists" could emerge at the center of a more conservative Democrat party, while the far leftist split off into groups like the Greens. In either 2006 or 2008, liberal GOP'ers may start crossing lines back to the Democrat side of the isle. McCain and Guliani for President as Dems in 2008? Could happen. Or maybe, McCain and Powell?
If the Dem's crash hard in 2004 (which is a good thing, anyway you slice it), the resulting political earth quake will change everything, including the Republican party.
Here's to a bit of anarchy ...GO DEMS GO!!.
SFS
Kerry was being wounded at the rate of once every 27 days. Its a wonder he got out alive.
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