"Say goodnight, Gracie."
"Goodnight Gracie."
Posted on 09/02/2004 5:38:26 PM PDT by vanderleun
"Say goodnight, Gracie."
"Goodnight Gracie."
"Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me
I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed
I was looking kind of dumb
With my finger and my thumb
In the shape of an "L" on my forehead "
-- SmashMouth, All Star
In the last few days there have been a lot of cycles wasted by people on the left, right, and center noting how badly the Kerry campaign is doing. To my mind, this is like suddenly discovering gravity.
The Kerry Campaign is doing badly because it has always done badly. Snagging the nomination from eight or nine less-electable clowns doesn't mean you're doing well, it just means you're not doing as poorly as the rest of the pack.
Still, I will admit that the campaign itself has, over the last fortnight, begun to do poorly in a more visible fashion than the performance of the previous year. Usually, they were able to keep the lid on somehow keep the right face on things, but of late this mask has begun to slip and that's a sign of deep existential distress on the inside.
The big question that keeps the keyboards humming at this point is : "Why?" This meditation is usually answered by some pundit or another hauling out the quick fix, the sure tactic, and the smooth move that will set things right and put John Kerry back on the path to the big chair in the oval office. Some have even gone so far as to propose Joe Trippi be brought in from the fields of clover he is currently cavorting in to right the good ship Kerry and send it smoothly into the harbor.
All these answers and suggestions are rank nonsense.
The single and only internal reason that things are now seen to be going badly inside the Kerry campaign is that deep inside the Kerry campaign, in the very core of the candidate himself, the have seen the fiery finger of fate write in glowing and deeply etched letters the single word: LOSER.
That's right -- down in the center where the Kerryites are sifting their statistics and spreadsheets and seeding their spin they already know what most of us are just beginning to sense-- THEY'VE LOST AND THERE IS NOTHING, BUT NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT.
Keen noses can smell the defeat starting to sweat off in the campaign corridors.
If this were a boxing match, the guys in the corner would already be wetting down the towel and slipping the ringside doctor a C-Note to try and get Kerry out of there with his Senate seat intact.
But it is not a boxing match and they have to go through the motions for months with the taste of the butt end of Inauguration Day in their mouths. No, they have to fight on as if it matters and at the same time keep all barbiturates out of the candidate's reach. (On second thought, maybe a few diehard Democrats are refilling their Seconal scripts in the hopes that Edwards can score enough of a mercy vote to pull them through.)
There's probably more free-floating stress and anxiety in the Kerry Campaign today than in all of Florida's jammed evacuation routes because, in the Kerry Campaign, there is now no escape.
There are several dozen reasons that can be dug out to buttress the assertion that Kerry has lost. Running down the posts and pointers at Instapundit over the last week would be a start. Instead let's look at just one element -- swiftboats, the Dukakis Tank moment of the Kerry campaign.
If the Swiftboat story has started the take-down, just wait until people really get moving on Wintersoldier and the Kerry's little jaunts to Paris and his meetings with the Vietnamese. Think it won't come out? Think again. The Bush Campaign doesn't even start until tomorrow. And, hey, it doesn't even have to come out. It just has to be there. Is it there? Why, yes, Virginia it is. "It" is always there. In this case, "it" is the difference between losing the election and losing your previously safe seat in the Senate. And an ex-candidate and ex-Senator does not exactly fit into Teresa Heinz Kerry's internal fantasies about her future, so even that previously secure position is in play.
You can add in a lot of other things -- the voting record in the Senate for starters and the dubious health of the candidate for closers. Would all this happen? We're at 60 days and third down. John Kerry, first and foremost of anyone, should know by this time that politics is a full-contact winner-take-all sport. One you don't play without a helmet. Just ask Mike Dukakis.
What's that? Mike isn't speaking to you. Guess you should have let him do more at your convention than play tour guide, John.
Typical lib 'all flash and no bang'. Absolutely no substance or character in either of these two empty suits.
This is NOT breaking news.
Heh. Heh. I agree completely. We should not be complacent but get the vote out. It could be great in terms of changing the House and Senate for the better. Goodbye Daschle!
*bump*
It would seem that Dubya has surmounted that 15 and gained a few extra!
GO W GO
The media is still talking about a razor thin victory for one or the other, a very divided nation, Bush has to have an improved economy & Iraq, etc. I guess they haven't noticed?
Don't stick a fork in him yet... he may be a zombie
Some great hyperbole that mirrors my beliefs about the election but, as the writer notes, there are 60 days left. The October surprise hasn't been sprung, al-Qaida's "sway-the-vote" attack hasn't occurred plus whatever other unexpected event remains.
I'm, at least, willing to admit that this race isn't over until ALL of the fat ladies have sung and, right now, they have only just arrived at the theater. They still have to warm up and we still have 60 days.
While these commentaries always bring a smile to my face, I fear they may make us too complacent. Bush has to campaign like he's 5 points down all the way to the end -- and so do we!
Old horse face is going down hard!
So richly deserved.
I love it!
why you would say that... 
I wish the Massachusetts voters would get serious about starting a recall on this clown, considering how poorly he has represented his state not only during this campaign but even before.
After Bush thumps him 57-40 (with 3 for Nader), does that mean that Kerry and the Democrat party can only claim credit for 25% of the vote...???
I've been telling me mum for months now that Kerry wasn't going to get elected cause he never was able to get more that 20% of his own Democrat voters in the state horse races.
How can a guy be president without getting his voters excited about voting for him....not against the other guy.
Ya, ya, I know what your going to say Daly and Co. will dig up the vote.
Buy the way, that pic is Priceless.
this is one of the most exquisitely written pieces i've seen in quite awhile.
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.